You Will Be Loved
by starsfromthenight
Summary: 3 guys. 3 lives. 3 completely different paths. Dean, Roman and Seth meet one faithful day in calculus tutoring. Laughs and tears are shed. Friendship and romance is formed while each discover their own way in life and learn one thing is for damn certain: nobody ever remembers what you did or how you did it but will never forget how you made them feel.
1. Chapter 1

_"If you hate your parents, the man, or the establishment, don't show them up by getting wasted and wrapping your car around a tree. If you really hate your parents, out earn them, out live them and know more than they do." -Henry Rollins_

* * *

Seth nearly tripped on his own two feet trying to run down the long narrow halls passing an array of big colorful posters and trophy cases exhibited proudly on the white walls. The whole scenery seemed extremely welcoming and that helped him run a little bit faster. He was late as was not the usual, ever. He was always on time but that morning had turned out a lot worse than he had expected it to. The shoes his parents had ordered for him online had failed to arrive on time, so he'd ended up getting the old ones out of the garbage can outside his home because he only had that pair left. Summer shopping had been delayed due to dad's work, so his closet was a lot more empty than he'd been accustomed to. His parents usually giving away their clothes each season was a way to "help out in the community" as they usually put it. Community helping this year, however, would have to wait.

 _"We must get you new clothes Seth." His mother had yelled out from the kitchen as she cooked supper, "I promise you we will go as soon as your father is unoccupied."_

His mother.

Ever the nice, composed lady. Her wardrobe screamed no fools allowed, her talk was something out of a 20's politician movie, if there even was such a thing Rollins did not really know. Ever the gentle lady, someone a man like his father would easily fall hard in love with, having a job as prestigious as him, recently named the Chief Operating Officer of McMahon Enterprises. Such a position made him a really influential man in the town of Santa Fe, the place they'd chosen to live in right after their precious son was born in Davenport, Iowa. Their one and only son. He was madly in love with his "Little Flor" as he called her. Seth didn't know why he decided on that alias as her actual name was Stephanie, not really having anything to do with Flor at all.

 _"Ok mother. It's alright. Gives me more time to get my Summer homework done." He yelled from the gigantic, decorated living room, in their equally gigantic home, as he finished his work._

 _His mother sighed, while on the phone with Hunter, Seth's father who spoke, "Isn't our son amazing my dear?"_

 _"Oh that he is my dear. That he is." She smiled to herself and continued stirring the pot with Hunter's favorite meal, chicken stew._

Seth finally arrived to his destination, a classroom, at Nation High School. It was first day of junior year. A junior. He was going to be a fricken junior and he couldn't be more excited about that. All those years in school would finally pay off once he graduated the next year. Now his life would really kick off as he would get to go to Carnegie AU, the most prestigious university with the best education in all of the States.

His big smile could not be contained as he entered the classroom and everyone of course looked away from the woman at the podium to grant him all their attention, some eyes curious, others that couldn't care less. Seth got a bit nervous under so many stares but did his best to ignore them. World History. First day of school was officially in session and that made Seth's smile grow even more. He loved school it was his favorite part of the day. All his life had revolved around getting a good education, his parents helping in the process.

"Mr. Rollins." Ms. Maverick called for him, interrupting his thoughts once again with a huge smile on her face at the mention of the young boy's name. Seth usually got along really well with almost all his teachers, hell, he got along with everyone who was staff. They absolutely loved him, and Ms. Maverick, his 50 year old history teacher was no different. Apparently being a too-good-it's-almost-illegal kind of guy would do well. Not like Seth ever had any trouble behaving well. He was a complete bundle of likeness to older people, specially teachers. He got along quite good with them to the point where he would get to skip final exams due more in part to his behavior rather than how smart he was, not that he wasn't smart, but being well-liked was a bonus. He took pride in that which caused him to make a promise to himself that every one of his teachers would also love him this year, even more if possible.

Ms. Maverick stood down from her tall brown podium to grab a few sheets of paper from her desk. The classroom was extremely homely-looking, with even a pot of coffee and an assortment of cookies on top of the bookshelf in the back of the room. He noticed most students with a foam cup and a plate on top of their desks filled with the yummy snacks and hot drink. He also noticed there was not really anyone he knew in that class with him causing some unease for the boy, but of course decided to extend the courtesy of a smile and handshake to his teacher, who had her small hand extended towards him, "I am really happy to also have you this year Mister." She motioned for the table in the back with an even bigger smile and said, "There's all kinds of pastries, coffee and hot chocolate in the back so please," she handed him a packet of papers stapled together, "make yourself at home Seth." She winked at him and let him go so he could get settled.

Oh yes, this year was going to be good.

The day went by pretty quickly and now was time for lunch. The cafeteria was pretty packed that day with all sorts of new and old faces Seth would instantly recognize. People pushed each other playfully and high-fived one another in hopes of, once again, a good school year. Despite it being pretty full, the place was still organized and that pleased the young teen well, who despised when things got too wild. The school system was quick to handle any indiscretion so everyone made sure to always be their very best as nearly no nonsense went unnoticed. There were school guards by each door on that big room as the youngsters were served healthy assortments, from veggie-filled sandwiches and fruit to high-in-fiber chips and salads. Yes the school was a jungle filled with not only well-behaved, but healthy individuals too.

Seth sat in one of the many tables on the edge of the cafeteria with a tray of food in front of him. A very scenic view of the town from one of the big windows right where he could see. The tables in the middle were usually reserved to all the jocks, cheerleaders, activity people and just popular, well-liked kids in general. The rest sat around them. Seth had no idea where that trend had started or why but he went along with it, just like everyone else did.

"Seth! Hey Seth!" A voice called him from a close distance and Rollins had to look around to see who it was, although he already had a pretty good idea, "Over here buddy!"

He looked over to his right and there was Sami Zayn waving at him like a madman. Next to him was their other good friend, Adrian Neville, smiling and waving as well, though not as loosely or cheery as the other boy.

"Hey, hey guys!" He couldn't help but wave back, one thing he couldn't do however was be too loud. He already knew Sami was pretty loud, but not him, he had to keep his cool, avoid being stared at too much by judging eyes.

Sami went over to him getting him up by his elbows and greeting with a gigantic, tight hug. Sami Zayn. The nicest kid you would probably ever meet, not only in school but in your lifetime. He was always so gentle and caring for others. Seth was glad to have him as a friend even if he could sometimes be a little out there and loud. This occasion, however, called for that type of behavior as they hadn't seen each other since school had ended, Sami having gone on vacation to some exotic place being the reason.

"I am glad to see you Seth how's it going?" The smile never leaving him, after the particularly long hug he set his tray of food on their table and sat down next to Rollins.

"Great Sami, how about you?" He proceeded to extend the same hug to Neville, a lot quicker this time, the English boy not being as affectionate as their buddy. He'd also just seen Seth the week before.

Sami nodded and chuckled, his face a deep shade of red as if a pissed off someone had punched him hard in the face or was just overwhelmed around this amount of people. Though, if someone had no problem handling individuals, it would be the redhead. Probably just fresh out of gym class, Seth thought.

"Junior year huh boys?" Neville also sat down next to Sami, brown paper bag in hand.

"Yes." Rollins with a huge smile on his face couldn't help but get excited about even the mere mention of their grade. He loved hearing about being a little bit closer to graduation, to starting life as an engineer or surgeon or... anything he wanted to be. Literally. He was ready for it.

"In that you are right my dear friend." Sami now unwrapping his sandwich said, "Hopefully this year doesn't kick our behinds too hard."

"Oh of course not!" Seth immediately added stretching his arms behind his chair, "This year will be the best one yet."

"You said the same thing last year stud." They all turned to look at Hideo Itami standing in front of them. He wrapped his arms around Rollins from behind and started applying a not-too-hard wrestling hold. Seth struggled under his weight playfully as Sami laughed maniacally and Neville pretended to be an announcer of sorts.

"And now he applies on the hold. OH WHAT A HOLD! SOMEBODY STOP HIM!" The English boy yelled out, waving his burrito in the air.

They continued that way for a couple more seconds until Hideo finally let him go, the laugh never leaving them even after he sat down next to Rollins. Sami started choking on his sandwich.

"SOMEBODY HELP THIS DYING MAN!" Neville once again decided to blurt out, "BY GOD HE IS DYING!"

The staff and students all stared at them, some with incredulous looks on their faces, others laughing their butts off at the little show the boys had given them. One of the door guards started making their way over to them.

"Is he alright?" The tall jacked up dude asked referring to Sami.

"Oh yes he is absolutely fine just playing around that's all." Rollins had to say. He didn't want to get in trouble because of Sami nearly dying.

Neville started patting Sami on the back as the older teen nearly coughed up blood, "Yea mister. I sense he probably chocked on a piece of celery or something."

"This fool!" Hideo continued in a thick Japanese accent, "We always tell him not to eat if he's going to bust out laughing every 5 seconds, which is always. Like usual he does not listen." He shook his head with pretend disgust but his expression turned serious when looking at the guard who was now walking away, "Our apologies officer."

"You kids be careful now." He motioned to all 4 boys and left back to his place. Everyone else went back to their business.

"You alright now?" Neville asked Zayn, who was rubbing his throat but still chuckled a little bit, his face even redder than before, if that was even possible. Adrian smacked him in the back of the head slightly, "You fool!"

"Hey." Sami made a hurt expression and looked around their table, puzzled.

"You nearly got us sent to the office or worse yet, to the hospital with your corpse on the stretcher." Seth spoke as the 2 other teens laughed out loud at this remark.

"It was just so funny."

"Look, we know we are awesome and funny and amazing. You almost dying is not cool however." Hideo motioned to Sami who simply shook his head muttering a "whatever" under his breath, faint smile still present on his lips though, "But anyway," Itami continued attempting to change the now overdone subject, "how's classes going so far eh studs?"

Seth nodded taking a sip of his orange juice, "Pretty good. I would say it's even better than last year."

"Same here." Adrian took another bite of his burrito speaking with his mouth full. He pointed to Rollins although his mind was obviously on his food, "I am with Seth on this."

"Yea well, see if you guys say the same thing after you meet the new professor."

That sparked a level of curiosity to Seth who put both his elbows on the table, intrigued.

"New teacher?" Adrian scoffed, surprised as well.

"And who might that be?" Seth asked.

Sami was the one to answer this time, "Apparently, this guy moved here from some place in Europe or something."

"Europe?" Adrian chuckled, completely ignoring the fact that he was also from Europe himself, "What would someone from Europe be doing here?"

"Same thing you are." Itami butted in and directed his gaze to Sami who was now finishing up his sandwich, which had previously attempted to murder him, "And no he is not from Europe you doof. He's from the States. Don't know much about him other than his name is Roman Reigns. That's all I know so far."

"What a weird name." Sami giggled.

"Yea." Neville followed up.

Rollins just stared at Itami in confusion, trying to see if the Japanese teen had more on this new teacher. Seth had to know who he was or if he would be having him later on in his remaining periods. He'd memorized the school schedule the days before but his 8th period class had not had a teacher written on it yet, unfortunately. Could it be that maybe this Roman guy would be his teacher? Possibly. He didn't have a single problem with that at all, however. He would win him over easy, just like he had all his previous new teachers so that didn't worry him much.

Still he had to ask, "And this Roman guy, have you had him already?"

"3rd period, yes."

"How was he?" Sami asked.

"Pretty cool stud. He's really young probably in his 20's or something. Nice guy. All the girls were creaming their panties over him. Good looking dude." Itami mocked as he opened his backpack.

"Hopefully he doesn't end up being a dick." Sami once again spoke, "Because I am not handling that. No matter how good he looks."

"Ha!" Adrian butted in, still extremely focused on his half-finished burrito.

Seth turned to look at the Canadian, "You have him?"

"For 7th. Mr. Roman Reigns. College-Level Algebra."

"Holy crap. COLLEGE-LEVEL ALGEBRA?" Neville blew out, once again scoring the group a few more looks from the surrounding students.

"Sure you can handle that?" After careful examination, Itami crumpled up a paper and attempted to throw it into the trash only to miss, "Dammit." He stood up, backpack in hand, making his way to the trash can.

"I don't know." He raised his eyebrows, "Which is why I want him to be nice." The redhead sighed, "This is why I hate new teachers."

Seth stood up and grabbed his now nearly empty tray, "Well I love them."

"Where are you going?" Asked Neville.

"The bell's about to ring." And just when he said that the bell rang.

"Jesus, Seth." Sami looked around as people began getting up dumping their trays in the garbage near Hideo who was still standing chuckling at Rollins' prediction, "Are you like a psychic or something?"

"Nah." He laughed, pretty loudly for his taste, "But try reading the schedule nearly 100 times then come back to me."

"You memorized that damn thing?" Hideo blew out a whistle, "I couldn't even bare look at it this morning without wanting to puke. Doesn't surprise me though. You are quite the weirdo stud." He pointed at him.

Seth rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

All 4 boys chuckled, grabbing their backpacks and heading to their respective 6th periods, Itami giving Seth a pat on the back.

The rest of the day went on like a blur. More papers, more student introductions, more faces. More faces he didn't like, more teachers to please and more teachers he had already pleased the years before. Same old, same old.

Rollins headed to his 8th period which he was sure would be an interesting scenario. All his teachers this year had been people he'd seen or had before in a class. Now if what the boys and his schedule had told him was true then having the new teacher Roman Reigns would surely be a challenge and Seth loved challenges like that. He was sure, however, he would have him won by next week.

"Greet your new student Seth Rollins, Mr. Reigns." Seth spoke quietly to himself as he was the last one to leave 7th period, "Your NEW favorite student."

He made his way to the classroom, room 10. Unlike his 1st period that morning, he wasn't late so he would have the chance to start getting to know his teacher already. Testing him out. Seeing if he would like him.

He entered the room and the first thing he noticed was the lack of decoration. All his previous classes had been so welcoming, with various teachers even offering them food. Now this... this was different. The walls were pretty lonely and the front desk was pretty neglected as well. The room might as well not have been anyone's. Seth even had to check his schedule, see if he was even in the right place. He turned his back to the door staring down at the piece of paper in his hand.

Then he heard footsteps behind him. Entering the room.

"Welcome."

He quickly turned around and immediately all his thoughts went away. His mind going as blank and bland as that place.

And what a distraction that was.

The man starring back at him in front of the classroom was something... truly something to behold. He was tall, dark and extremely, almost illegally, handsome. Like some sort of beacon of light he stared down at him, gray eyes to brown. Seth couldn't help but blush deeply, as red as Sami had at lunchtime. All thoughts of Sami, however, were not even a thing in that moment as they both locked eyes. Teacher to student. Handsome god-like creature to weird, skinny, frail-looking being.

"Welcome to Calculus kid." The exquisitely good looking man smiled up at Seth leaving a plate of food on his teacher desk in the process, all while making the young teen nearly fall on his face.

"H- hi." Was the only full sentence he could form, completely stupefied at the man's handsome nature. His skin was a nice warm caramel color, his eyes as gray as the moon, his jet black hair neatly tied in a bun behind his head, which Seth could guess must be long and luscious. He had to admit he had seen some good looking people before, in school and out, but nothing, nothing quite like him. In that moment he could go as far as to say there was no one that looked quite like Roman Reigns.

"How are you liking school so far?" The man went to hang his jacket on the chair behind his desk. He was wearing a suit, an actual suit. A all-black number with a gray shirt underneath the jacket he was now taking off revealing the shirt sleeves tucked back and a full, intricate tattoo making an appearance. Black tie and black shoes to match. He looked... glorious almost.

Seth had to shake his head a little, shake away from how stupid he must look to Reigns, "I- um. I- I am liking it so far." The chuckle that came after that sounded like a boy being hit hard by the puberty bus, even though Seth had already gone through that 3 years prior when he was 13, "It's alright so far... I mean well you know first days, you usually can't tell so- yea." He smiled apologetically then went to go pick a seat giving his back to the professor. He didn't want to look stupid any longer.

"You're right about that." As Seth sat down he noticed Roman grabbing something from his portfolio, a packet of papers it seemed. He approached Seth, his stance something majestic, his walk a result of confidence. He exuded so much reassurance, but at the same time and for some odd reason something told Rollins that he was a really wise person, really wise for someone as young as him. He must've been in his 20's or something.

Roman placed the papers on Seth's desk not before extending his hand which the teen took, "Hope everything continues going well for you, uh..."

He gave Rollins a look and that was his queue to speak, even though he was completely taken aback, "Rollins- Seth. Uh, Seth... Rollins. Seth Rollins." He looked down and felt his face go warm, oh crap. He was probably a wild strawberry color by now. Great, he thought. All he could do was smile up at this good looking being.

To his relief, Roman only smiled back shaking his hand and with a wink said, "Nice to meet you Seth. Everything will be fine I reassure you, at least in my class it will."

Seth only nodded like a complete dummy. Reigns walked back to his desk as the room started to fill up. He tried to make sense of the way he was feeling at that moment, not like he came up with anything other than the aura Reigns gave. He was intimidating as hell but he wasn't at the same time, it was all so... intriguing to Rollins. He wanted to run and hide somewhere after his terrible showing but he couldn't stop starring at him. Wow, what was happening?

A few more minutes passed and as Roman finished writing something on the board: the usual stuff such as his full name, email address and the name of the class, along with other basic info teachers usually gave. The man waited until the bell rang, he then proceeded to close the door and address the bunch of young people in front of him, "Good afternoon students. My name is Roman Reigns, but of course you will address me as Mr. Reigns or Professor Reigns, whichever you prefer." He held his arms up in front of him and smiled, "I don't judge."

A few of the students chuckled, including Seth and many, many, high-pitched giggles. Hideo had been right, a lot of the girls in class were also in complete awe of Roman, Rollins was just glad he wasn't the only one. Seemed Mr. Reigns had that effect on people and why wouldn't he? He was glorious.

The professor continued talking about the class and what they could expect from him but also what he expected of them. He made eye contact with Seth a few times and smiled down at him but didn't really address him in front of the class until he was calling out attendance, "I apologize if the names are not in alphabetical order." He shook his head while smiling along with more high-pitched giggles, "They gave me the dumb version of the list, but I promise you by tomorrow I will make sure I get the smart one." More high-pitched giggles and batting eyelashes followed after that. "Uh let's see." He looked at the list, "Dean Ambrose." He looked around the class waiting for someone to claim the moniker. Seth looked around as well, not impressed at all.

Ambrose? Really?

He would be having Dean fricken Ambrose in the same class as him? Why this stuff always ended up happening to him he did not know. Him and Ambrose were not the best of buddies, hell, Seth didn't like the kid at all. He was a rebel, an anarchist, pure trouble and he went the complete opposite way of what Seth considered right, of what he knew was right. They just... they just weren't compatible, at all, and he made sure to stay as far away as possible from people like that. He didn't need that kind of attitude in his life. But of course he would now have to be stuck with the kid in a class once again. Whenever he didn't want someone or something in his life there had to be those rare occasions, those rare unfortunate instances, where he did have to associate with them, there just had to be those times. And now he had to see Ambrose everyday, if the kid even showed up. In the past, the classes he'd had with him, he had barely shown up constantly ditching and stuff doing god knows what. When he did decide to show up it was only to cause mayhem, pissing off teachers and students alike, including Seth. Yes they'd had their little encounters before, and not good ones.

The young teen only sighed at the mention of the name. Poor Roman didn't know what he was getting into, hopefully Dean would just decide school was not his thing after all and drop-out, forever, do the community a favor. Hopefully him not even showing up on the first day of school was a sign of that happening.

"Do we have a certain Mr. Dean Ambrose in class today?" Nobody raised their hand or made a sound, some people even rolled their eyes or scoffed at the name. Seemed not a lot of people associated with Ambrose either, "No? Ok. Well, then absent I suppose." He marked the absence on his sheet with a frown, still looking good of course, and continued, "Seth Rollins is here." The handsome teacher looked up and smiled at Seth before marking it down on his sheet. In that moment Seth could've swore all eyes of the world were on him. Everyone in that classroom stared and even though there were people behind him he could sense their eyes, burning eyes on him. He hated being stared at but smiled back either way, trying his best, and failing, to ignore everyone and their mothers looking. People were clearly shocked of the way the man had addressed him, as if they'd known each other for quite some time, which was unfortunately not the case. Roman, who seemed not bothered by it all spoke, the smile never leaving his pretty face, "Everyone please say hi to Seth, who I am sure will be an excellent student." A unison of "Hellos" and "His" followed after that making Seth feel even worse. Ok could he move on now?

Reigns continued on while looking intently at the teen, "So Seth do you mind if I ask you to tell the class and myself something about you."

"S- something?" There it was. That dumb stuttering rearing it's terrible face once again.

Roman spoke as if nothing was happening, to the envy of the teen, "Anything you want." He stretched his arms towards the class, "The floor is yours buddy."

"Um, well." He chuckled dryly, unsure of what to say, he'd been caught off guard for sure. Still, despite the awkward situation he was now faced with, something made him get up. What it was he had no idea, but he just stood up thinking of something to say, blurting out the first thing that came into his mind which didn't come out too bad at all, "I have amazing parents. I am really happy to be getting an education and happy to be here. I- I hope this... this will be good for us- for me. A good experience for me." He rubbed at his sides feeling so weird. It was strange having so many people look at him. Not like he'd never introduce himself to a class before, as matter of fact he'd done it in pretty much every class prior to this one without a problem. Now, however, for some reason he felt super awkward. Was it Reigns? Was it the way he was now looking up intently at him with the most focused look on his face? Examining him? Nearly sucking the oxygen out of the room with that deep gray-eyed stare? Maybe. Most likely yes.

Roman nodded and once again smiled, "Thank you Seth."

The teen sat down and nodded back. That had been... interesting to say the least. Awkwardly interesting.

Roman continued with attendance and the rest of the class had gone on without much more hesitation. Without so much as an interaction between them, Seth not deciding fully whether that was good or bad given his previous reaction to being talked to by the man. When the bell rang all Seth did was give Reigns a slight nod, the professor had gotten a phone call by that time, though he also nodded back with a big smile on his face, "Goodbye Seth. See you tomorrow." The young teen smiled back and walked out, strangely happy at the "see you tomorrow" part. If this day was any indication, that class was going to be interesting for sure.

His mother was already waiting outside the building, asking him a million and one questions about his day and his teachers and how it all had gone as soon as he'd opened the door of the car. Going on and on about every little detail with his parents that evening, Seth was exhausted from conversation by the time he went to bed, after excusing himself from dinner of course. He hadn't told them much about Roman other than the fact that he was really nice, they didn't need to know of the wild way his mind had gone on about the man's looks. No they did not need to know that. He plopped down on his bed after putting on comfortable pajamas. He stared at the ceiling for a few more minutes. Maybe it was because it'd been the first day of school and the exhaustion of it all, maybe he had grown unaccustomed to the drill, but for some reason he fell asleep instantly. So many nights before insomnia had shown up at the foot of his bed, waking him and leaving him that way until his alarm clock played loudly some rock metal toon. That night however, insomnia never showed up, not once. And for the first night in a long time full of consistent sleepless nights, Seth slept quietly and peacefully, as peaceful as ever. Dreaming of attendance sheets and gray eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Another day, another piece of hell, he thought while walking along the soaked sidewalk on that rainy rain. His inactive cellphone shone a big '7:55' in bright, white font as water began to blurry the screen a bit. Too damn early. He, however, loved rainy days. They brought a sort of tranquility and solace that no other day could. Something about listening to the sound of small water droplets making their landing gently on the ground was always so, so damn peaceful to him. This day however, would be anything but peaceful, he realized, as he strolled under the cloudy gray sky with a pace that anyone would mistake for sickness, or sadness. But sickness nor sadness presented a problem to the young teen, he just wasn't looking forward to anything that day had to offer.

Second day of school. Second fucking day.

Technically, it would be his first since he'd ditched the day before to go hang with friend Solomon Crowe, and the kid's dad, Luke Harper. Not the best of influences in anyone's mind, the looks they usually got from people being of pure distrust, but they were, as had become the usual, his escape from that stupid system. He hated school with a passion and couldn't wait till the day they finally handed him that useless piece of paper they'd decided to call diploma because it sounded fancy. Yea, he couldn't wait to see that day where he would finally be free from it all, or better yet, they would let him leave early, kicking him out for good. He had tried before too, looking for ways in which they would give back the freedom they'd so shamelessly decided to take without his consent. He'd so desperately looked for a way out, from clogging all toilets in the boy's restrooms to breaking mops and other school property right in front of their faces. He had done it all in hopes enough would be enough and the fact that he wasn't worth the trouble be presented to them as clear as a Sunday morning. That would be the only way he could stop going. He couldn't just drop-out all of sudden, his old folks would notice, not like they could give 2 shits about him either way, but he still could not risk it.

The one good thing all those acts of "rebelliousness" had afforded him was a reputation. A way that people viewed him now he could not taint, and he tried hard to maintain that status in school. While those dorks found what he did "distasteful" or "reckless" and kept as far away as possible from him, he saw it as nothing but a good thing, a benefit. He didn't want people too close to him or wanting to be up his ass every second, so that reputation helped achieve that. It was something he wanted to keep, and it happened without much difficulty.

As his thoughts continued to flow, he kept walking. He didn't know if he was a masochist to his own demise or what it was. After a brief pause, to watch some birds fly over his head quickly looking for some shelter to avoid the approaching rain, and a long sigh emanating from his lips, he walked on catching a glimpse of the big, ugly, yellow and gray building in the short distance. Thoughts of how unattractive the place might look to its visitors began to invade his mind. Small droplets of water made their landing on his hands, tickling lightly. There was some thunder heard in the distance and that was his queue to cross the sidewalk as fast he could to get away from the loud booms. Yes he loved rain but couldn't stand lightning, it just freaked him out.

Thankfully his place was near school so he didn't have to walk a huge distance, and as he climbed the too-long steps to the front door, he paused briefly, door handle in hand, to take one last look at the outside. The outside world he wouldn't be free to roam, being chained to this damn place for 8 lifeless hours. He paused to the point where some kids, that'd been walking shortly behind, had to wait for him to finally step inside. They knew not to mess with the boy, one look from those baby blue eyes and their minds would automatically let them know not to say or do anything. To not even make a movement as they would only piss off the kid, who didn't mind punching anyone that would do so, hard. With that very present, the group of kids behind him waited a minute until he felt like stepping inside.

Dean Ambrose was the name. His walk was funny to a few people, not his attitude. Upon first glance he would almost go unnoticed. Almost. Once people got to take a glimpse of his personality they knew there was nothing funny or regular about him. He was as confident as they came, one of the few people who could be smooth as hell with the ladies, but beat the living shit out of anyone who annoyed him, if they even dared. Yes, that was his way in school, and as a result, his rowdy nature did not score him many friends. Hell, Solomon was probably his only friend in that place, the only person who could stand him. Not like he gave a damn. Pretty much every student there was either a goody-two-shoes or some rich, whiny kid. There was no one quite like him or Solomon. They were the only people not sucked in by the system and the standards people set. They lacked a true place in the world, and if they ever did find one, it would be as far away from everyone in that place as possible.

Right as he stepped inside, his forearm began aching under his dark red sweatshirt. He touched over it lightly and flinched so decided to ignore the quick burst of pain as he continued strolling along the narrow hallways. It would faint eventually, pain usually did. The bell rang and so he made his way to his first official class of the day. He'd been there the day before but had not gone to the rest of his classes, ditching right after the bell rang to go to 2nd.

He stepped inside the small, cubicle-like place and took the farthest seat he could find from the teacher, the usual spot in the back of the room. Mrs. Graham, a 60 year old woman, walked in behind a group of students who also took their seats. She was blind as a bat and would usually forget things easily. She was quite strict however, when her mind would finally remember to function, and was very sharp when it came to teaching. Dean had her before and would always say that if he ever reached that age, if he even did, he wanted to be just like Miss Kathie Graham, with serious physical signs of time catching up to you, but the brain intact, as if it still belonged to that 17 year old who sat in class many years ago. She was probably the only teacher he liked too, despite her slight limitations and obvious lack of attention span to anything or anyone other than teaching. But he liked her, or at least tolerated her. Every other teacher was just terrible... and they hated him. Miss Kathie at least tried.

After a slight nod and a "How are you?" from her part, the class went on without having to make much contact with anyone else. Geography was not really his forte but he loved the fact that he didn't have to interact much with those inane human beings. No, it was all reading silently and answering easy assignments, that supposedly contained super tricky and thought-provoking questions. Thank heavens for Mrs. Graham, who just wanted a quiet class. He hated talking or even looking at those people. He not only hated that place, he hated everyone in it too, and them going along with everything they were told to do was a big part of why.

By the time lunch came around his stomach was in knots from all the sitting and kissing ass he'd done in all the classes so far. He was the only sane person who'd missed the day before, apparently, so he had to introduce himself and talk about the things he liked and blah blah blah. Just thinking about it ruined his day, although it had been ruined even before he stepped through those doors and took off his hoodie.

He was either not really hungry, or his mind just decided to ignore the loud, concert-like growls now going on in his abdomen. He wasn't sure, so he opted for one of the lame "5% Reduced Fat" beverages they had in the fancy hi-tech fridges. The school system was so damn lame. Why not offer something normal like chips, or cookies, or some pizza. Hell, why was everything so disgustingly healthy? Why couldn't they just be treated like normal human beings, who enjoyed eating normal food? Why was everything so fucked up in that school? Too many questions, not enough interest to answer them all.

He took his juice and went up the set of stairs that lead out to a patio in the back of the building when he bumped into that Neville kid. He was heading to the cafeteria, and Dean the opposite way, when their shoulders brushed, causing Ambrose to push Neville lightly making him nearly fall on his ass. Thankfully, he was pretty agile and had good balance so he was able to stop himself before something terrible could happen. If Ambrose would even care, however, was the real question.

"Watch where the fuck you going mouse ears." The rebellious teen just stared a him, bad mood evident. A couple of the other kids that had been behind Neville just looked back and forth between them in shock, traffic suddenly stopping completely. Not like it had been Adrian's fault, that particular set of stairs was really tiny and compressed, it was inevitable that they would touch while going opposite directions. Dean was just in the mood to be a little shit and they all knew it. Hell, when was he not a little shit?

"S- sorry Dean." Was all the other boy could say. He was scared out of his soul at this little encounter. He knew, hell, everyone in that school knew what the older teen could be capable of, many of his previous fights providing more than enough evidence. Adrian was terrified that this might turn into one of the boy's many violent encounters to go right in his wide collection.

And he knew it might turn into just that when Ambrose grabbed the much smaller teen by the collar of his green buttoned-up shirt. Their faces were really close to touching, their noses only a millimeter apart, and nostrils registered the faint scent of cigarette smoke. Despite this annoying little turn of events, Dean didn't raise his voice as much as expected. He kept the tone quiet, menacing, and to the point, "Don't fucking call my name. Don't you ever even utter it you hear me?" He pointed straight at Neville with his free hand, index finger brushing with the kid's cheek, scratching a little. He balled up his fist.

The moment Adrian caught sight of that action, he immediately nodded as fast as he could, seriously taking into consideration if he should pray for his safety or not. The other students on their part, did not dare mutter a word, the idea of summoning every powerful force known to man in order to protect the kid probably not far from their minds either. Everyone just froze and so did time in Neville's mind, his body feeling numb, unable to move. Though that would probably be a good thing if he was indeed getting the crap kicked out of him in a few seconds.

After what felt like an infinity of nods from the small teen, and an infinity of seconds to everyone else, Dean just let him go, leaving as if nothing had happened brushing the rest of the kids off, who stepped out of his way, allowing him to walk. Neville's breathing was heavy. He had to shake his head wildly to get back to reality, his heart nearly thumping out of his chest. Everyone else just kept walking, some even laughing at the poor boy, and he felt like dissipating into thin dust. That was humiliation personified, but he couldn't possibly have done anything about it. Either scenario was bad, but it would've been much worse if Ambrose did indeed beat him up. With that in mind, he grabbed whatever little amount dignity was left for him and kept walking, thoughts of heading into the cafeteria now completely erased.

Dean on his part, inhaled the fresh after-rain air and stretched his arms above him, which had desperately yelled for it after all that sitting around. He was finally at his destination on the outside patio, and could not help but smile a bit. He was so terrible to people sometimes, but it was hilarious. He knew Neville hadn't done anything wrong, he wasn't stupid, but the face the boy had made of pure fear was so horribly funny to him. If someone took a long look inside his mind, and analyzed his thoughts at that moment, they would immediately call him a psychopath, not like he could help it. The kid might've pissed his pants afterwards and he would've gladly watched just for the shit and giggles. There was just something so fulfilling in fear, specially when it shone on little, helpless kids like Neville. He finally chose to shake those thoughts away, not wanting them to go on and actually turn him into a psycho.

After a little more examination of the place and how cramped up it was, he sighed. The spot was a little courtyard with a few benches and a square of grass right in the middle, the rest of the space being filled out with trees and random tables with chairs and colorful umbrellas attached to them over the concrete floor. What was meant to be a friendly spot where kids could go outside and soak in the sun, was actually just a claustrophobia-triggering piece of land with all the possibilities of being soaked from the rain, that fell nearly everyday, included. Not like he minded that last part.

There were a few kids sitting around, hanging out, bottles of water or juice in hand given they could not eat there, that's what the cafeteria was for apparently. Dean thought that was so stupid. And people wonder why kids hate school so much. Although by the looks of things, no one in that damn place had a problem with how things were handled, people just went along with it and that irked him so much. He hated everyone, but if there was a particular type of person he hated, if his dislike was triggered by a kind, it would be all those damn conformists. There was nothing he despised more than individuals who settled for whatever shit was thrown their way, no, he would never be alright with that.

In that cramped crowd of people he spotted Wade "Bad News" Barrett sitting on one of the tables, phone in hand. Why they called him "Bad News" exactly he didn't know. Apparently he was too negative, but he was a cool dude, better than a lot of them for sure despite the attitude. He was actually Dean's kind of person, someone who saw the reality of it all and did not live in a damn bubble, like most of the doofs in that place chose to.

The older teen waved at Dean who was now approaching him, putting his shades on in the process, "How's it going mate?" His deep voice came out in a thick British accent. A lot of exchanged students usually ended up transferring to Nation High, Dean not quite understanding why out of all the places they could go to, but that's how things functioned. Thanks to a foreign exchange program, that lasted anywhere from 5 to 6 years, about 20 of them had arrived to their middle school a while back, Wade and that geek Neville being a part of the group. Thanks to that he'd known them since then. Barrett was a pretty cool dude, usually supplying Dean with the best dope he could find. As a result, both he and Solomon had maintained a good relationship with the older boy. He was already a Senior and would be leaving the next year back to England, so Dean somehow felt obligated to spend some time with the guy, or at least buy as much dope as possible from him, whichever worked.

He sat right in front of Barrett, also on top of the table, "Cool man. The usual... shitty school, shittier people. You know."

Wade chuckled a bit, of course he knew. He hated school as much or even more than Dean, being probably the only person who could achieve that, "Hah. Guess I got the right stuff this time then." He reached inside his coat pocket and handed Dean a little plastic bag, that upon further examination, elicited an excited smile from the younger boy. Good thing he was sporting shades.

"Ha-ha!" He weighed the contents of the bag a little and asked, "How much?"

Wade smiled, "Call it a little gift of sorts."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows, confused, "Nah man..." Wade only nodded and did some bowing, seemingly proud of himself, "Really?"

"Of course." He spoke loudly and that caused for his accent to show even more, making Ambrose chuckle a bit, "Didn't really have to do much for that particular product this time anyway so... it's a sort of bonus to you for being such a good customer I guess."

"Geez. Thanks man. Appreciate it." He waved the tiny bag in front of them a bit before putting it inside his backpack, "This will definitely kick the spot."

Barrett laughed pretty loudly causing a few heads to turn towards their table. Ambrose ignored them and the English boy just spoke, "I knew it would. You and Solomon are some of my best customers." He looked around briefly, "Where is that lad anyway?"

"No idea. Probably didn't feel like it today, you know how he is."

"Of course of course. Can't say I blame him." They both chuckled and Dean nodded, "Didn't see him yesterday either. As matter of fact, I didn't see you either lad. Didn't feel like it too?"

The younger teen adjusted his position, both arms behind him leaning on the table, he looked up at the cloud-filled sky and with a sigh said, "Nope. This place fucking sucks."

"Yea." He pointed at Dean's backpack now sitting on the floor, "Hope that helps."

Ambrose chuckled, "Oh, it will." His eyes turned to Barrett, "Thanks again man. Wish more people here were as chill as you. Specially all those geeks I see out in the hall everyday."

Wade immediately sensed something was in the young boy's mind, "Anyone in particular lad?"

"Nah. Just bumped into Neville today. He damn near threw me down the stairs the way he shouldered me. Had to put some fear into the kid. Scared the shit out of him too." That part made him smirk some more, something he couldn't help.

Barrett just shook his head, but Dean caught glimpse of the smirk also forming on his lips, "Seems Neville isn't really your type of person, I see lad."

Dean quickly responded, "Not just him. I have a problem with pretty much everyone in this place it seems. Or- you know what? Everyone has a problem with me. Not like I ever do anything much to bother them or whatever, I ain't no damn bully. They just like... annoy me." He sat up facing Barrett and made expressions with his hands, as he accustomed, to emphasize his point, "Like that Neville dude." He motioned to himself as if offended and Barrett chuckled, "I never even looked at the boy. I mean yea, in middle school I might have given him a wedgie or 2, but- that was decades ago. The boy needs to move on and understand I am not someone you should irk. But that's what these people do every damn time you know."

Barrett held his arms in front of him, "Ok lad I get it. I understand too. This system..." He got closer to Dean to the point where the young boy could smell his tobacco-infused breath. Barrett was actually the one who got him into chewing. With a loud whisper the England native said, "this system ain't for us man. I am telling you, this place... everything in it from the defenseless morons like Adrian Neville, to the petty rich kids like Dolph Ziggler. They belong here. This however is not a place for you, or me, or Solomon even. We have never belonged here lad, ever. And we damn never will."

Dean scoffed, of course he knew all that, "But that's a great thing Barrett. No, think about it." He paused briefly, checking out some of the girls passing by their table making Wade laugh, "Why would we want to belong in a place where everyone lives in a damn bubble. Where people..." Another pause, his voice getting lower, "where people just take whatever bullshit is handed to them. I ain't about that shit. I will never be. They live in a pink plastic bubble, but see, you" He pointed towards Wade, index finger landing on the older teen's firm chest briefly before Ambrose pointed at himself, "and me, we see reality Barrett. We see behind all that supposed happiness in this goody-goody system. We aren't trapped in it, not because we chose not to, but because they..." Dean motioned to the entire building before their eyes, "did not choose us. And that my friend, my lad..." He now moved his hand towards his own head, tapping lightly with his knuckle on the now puffy hair, "is because of what we have in here. They don't- they don't want kids who know what's up. Who can distinguish between pink and the color of shit, and this... this is anything but pink."

Right when he said those words the bell rang. Ambrose jumped down from his place, not taking his eyes off the building. He stood there for a while, eyeing everything and everyone, watching their every move, his mind deep in thought. That had been a pretty... thought-stimulating conversation they'd just had. He couldn't say he wasn't used to it however, these kinds of subjects usually sparked up whenever he hung out with Barrett and Solomon, specially when high. He didn't have any problem with that. Dean enjoyed those talks, but what he enjoyed more was what came after. Those fragments in his mind telling him, convincing him, that one day things might just change. He saved their talks, sure, but the afterthoughts, those he treasured.

With a sigh the young teen noticed the droplets starting to fall on his unruly, sand-colored hair which was a puffed-up messy bunch. He pulled the hoodie over his head and did not take off his shades. He looked over to Barrett, who surprisingly had not moved from his spot. Despite the water landing over his short, black hair, the English boy stayed there, deep in thought, his posture not once changing or registering that the bell had just rung.

Dean thought he waited there until forever so he finally decided to speak, "Hate to break you out of your daze there man, but uh, are you coming?"

Barrett spoke, seemingly aware of what was happening, just choosing to ignore it all, "You know what lad? You are right." That was all he said when he got off the table shaking his head, "I am not going to the rest of my classes."

"You serious?"

He nodded, "Yes I- I have some deep... deep thinking to do." He approached Dean and grabbed him lightly by the arm, surprising the boy. Wade's talk at that moment was quiet, almost non-existent given all the noise surrounding them, "You got a very bright mind there lad. Very... interesting thoughts. You speak nothing but the truth you hear me. Nothing but the goddamn truth, and these..." He motioned towards the building and the students now leaving them behind, rushing to get inside before it started pouring, "this goody-goody system as you call it, will try to reverse your thoughts. To make them disappear, to make you one of them. I already know they will. I can see those assholes already." His voice was laced with feeling, truly meaning what he was saying, "You are too valuable for them to ignore- for society to pass up the opportunity on someone with thoughts like yours. Someone who can actually tell right from wrong. Believe me when I say they will try to take you away to- to change you... according- in tune with their standards. Make you one of them. By heavens lad don't..." There was a pause from Barrett, and Dean could tell he was being completely honest. The English boy spoke slowly, attempting to place extra emphasis on what he was trying to engrave in the younger teen's head, "don't... let... them." With that he let go of Ambrose's arm and walked, nearly jogged towards one of the 3 doors leading inside the building, the one going opposite of Dean's direction. Wade paused right at the frame, handle in hand, and turned to grant one last look at the young boy staring back intently, "Gotta go Dean. See you around okay."

All Ambrose could do was nod, the rest of his body not registering what the word "movement" was. The things Barrett just said to him had... definitely hit a nerve. Hard. They kept him glued on that one spot as the rest of the kids went on to their classes. When everyone else kept going, he stayed back... thinking. His mind just kept coming up with more and more thoughts, making him realize right then: 6th period would have to wait another day.

By the time 8th period came around, Ambrose was seriously thinking about ditching. He'd already not gone to 6th, he might as well not go to this next class.

Calculus.

Fuck his damn life. Math was a subject he was not necessarily fond of, and as he paused outside Room 10 really considering just placing it all on hold for one more day, he took out the wrinkled schedule and analyzed it. He was surprised the damn thing was still readable given his backpack's lack of organization. He frowned at his previous classes and their teachers, his eyes going down to 8th period noticing there was no teacher listed on there. That was weird. He hadn't had a new teacher since probably middle school and this, unfortunately, sparked a level of unexpected curiosity. Where that had surfaced from he didn't know, but it made him quickly get inside ignoring the sudden uneasiness that little plastic bag on his sock brought him.

Walking into the quiet, nearly-empty room, he didn't pay mind to the figure sitting behind the teacher's desk. As was now the usual, he chose the seat in the back corner, and as was also now the usual, he noticed so far there was no one he knew in that class.

The seat he wanted was taken already by another doof, causing the teen to approach him pointing at another seat with his best pokerface on, "Move." That simple word, despite being muttered as casually as possible, made the smaller boy nearly trip on his own 2 feet as he quickly searched for another seat. Dean settled on his new chair with a big smile on his face, dropping his backpack on the floor. He winked at the young man behind the desk who was now eyeing him intently, expressionless. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a dark figure also staring at him even after he'd sat down. He looked over and there was...

Seth Rollins?

What the hell was that kid doing in his class? He'd thought by the time they both reached Junior year, being the smartest kid in school and all, he might've been in college by then, nearing graduation with a PhD or some shit. That the boy was still in high school was probably the biggest shock of the century. How were the rest of the students not questioning this? The kid was literally Jesus personified walking around their campus. He was nice to everyone and could do absolutely no wrong, not to mention he was really smart too. Dean didn't know exactly how much the kid knew, but he was damn sure there was probably an encyclopedia glued to his brain. Hell, he'd probably already solved all the mysteries in the world and debunked all the myths, that's how smart the boy was. That was probably the main reason their little encounters before had turned out... unpleasant for Seth, to say the least. Yea, he was probably the one person in that place Dean had messed with more than anyone. He just couldn't help it. Seth was just so goddamn easy to annoy and that was what Dean looked for when being a little shit, someone who couldn't bear the thought of any sort of imperfection. He was also your typical rich, unthankful goody-two-shoes, but that was for another time.

"Hey how's it going Seth?" Dean smirked and winked at the young boy who was still staring back a few rows away, disgust evident on his face. The classroom was already filled up with all kinds of chatter, but Seth wasn't that much harder to spot. That boy stood out like a sore thumb, as much as he tried not to, "How's daddy doing?" The dishonest smile still drawn on Dean as he spoke, keeping tone casual, as if they were the best of buddies.

The younger teen simply narrowed his eyes and turned around to look at the teacher. Dean had been so caught up, searching for ways to annoy Rollins even more, that he didn't notice the pair of gray eyes regarding both boys intently, fingers slowly caressing chin. Seth, however, did notice, making Dean look up at the man in front of the classroom. The tall figure stood up and went to close the door never quite taking his eyes off the both of them. After doing so, he addressed the class, "Welcome back students." There was a unison of voices cheerfully answering "Hi Mr. Reigns" back at him. Ambrose just eyed everyone, disgusted at the cordiality. Reigns spoke back, smiling up at the congregation, "Hope everyone had a good day yesterday." Some of the girls nearby giggled as Mr. Reigns walked over to his desk, "Some of the things going on today:" He grabbed sheets of papers from the large surface and started passing them out, "I want you each to answer this questionnaire. You know, just the usual stuff, telling me about yourselves and what you like, etc."

Great, Dean thought. More goddamn questions about himself. Didn't that place ever have enough?

Reigns kept talking, "After that..." When he approached Dean he paused, eyeing the young boy intently, seemed like since class had started he hadn't been willing to take his eyes off him, "I am going to assign seats." Dean stared back at the man, not liking that last part too well.

Once Reigns' back was to him, handing out more papers, not once pausing again for anyone, Ambrose spoke, keeping his tone as casual as possible, "Uh, Mr. Reigns?" Roman turned back to look at the shaggy teen, stopping right in front of Rollins' desk, "That's your name right? That's what all these, uh... students called you." He had to contain a smirk upon registering some of the expressions in that bunch, "So, uh, you mentioned something about moving or switching seats, sir?"

The young teacher chuckled, "Roman's the name actually, and yes. That's exactly what I said Dean." The professor quickly responded, one question immediately invading the brunette's mind: How the hell did this guy know his name?

That, unexpectedly, took him by surprise, which Reigns' noticed, making him smirk a little, "Well, I'm not doing it." The young teen smirked back and stretched his arms behind the chair, "I already found my place, and as you can tell... with a lot of effort." He pointed to the kid that he'd taken the seat from, the poor boy at least 6 chairs away, "Poor old Billy there had to make that little sacrifice for me, but let me tell you, it doesn't go unnoticed. So, uh, Billy?" He looked over to the boy and bowed a little, the most serious expression registered on his face, it was almost funny to watch, "Thank you." Billy just nodded, not really having much of a choice being terrified and all. Dean turned his attention back to Reigns, the rest of the kids knowing exactly what he was doing, letting out quiet chuckles in the process, "So yea... I think I'm good." He smiled, amusement not far behind.

"Is that so?" Roman's expression didn't seem angry, but curious more than anything. He had a lot more patience than his dominating appearance led on.

Ambrose just nodded once, "Yep."

Reigns continued passing out papers, he smiled down at Seth who shook his head at the other teen's behavior, mouthing a quick "I'm sorry". What was Dean's problem? Didn't he ever get along with anyone? Couldn't he give anyone a break, ever? Rollins felt so bad for Roman. That was unacceptable. He should've kicked the dude out forever as soon as he'd decided defying his authority was a good idea. Too bad he couldn't do anything, even if he wanted to with a passion. It would be no use. Ambrose just... he just didn't care. That in mind, all that was left now for him was to start working on his paper, and so he did.

The class had gone on in silence for about 30 more minutes when Roman approached Dean, stopping right in front of the kid's desk. He'd refrained from making the boy introduce himself, not because he didn't want to, the actual reason being he noticed Ambrose's mouth probably knew no boundaries. He was rowdy, and would be quick to snap if need be. Roman wasn't looking for that this soon, it was barely the second day. The young boy was working intently on something, head nearly glued to the desk. Upon further look Reigns noticed the doodles on the kid's notebook, making him shake his head in frustration. He caught a glimpse of the questionnaire, still intact, and that bothered him a little more than it should have.

"Dean..." The teen seemed to be blocking everyone and everything out, extremely focused, so he had to call out again, "Dean."

Finally he looked up, a bit confused but having expected this at the same time, "Yea?"

"Can I speak with you outside the classroom?"

All the brunette did was look around, not really knowing what to do. He noticed most of the kids were starring at him, Dolph Ziggler in particular with a smirk on his face. That sonofabitch. He'd been smirking his ass off too when he had stolen that geek's seat, now apparently found him being potentially in trouble amusing as well. Fuck him, Dean thought as he stood up walking towards the door. Fuck all of them. He felt heavy footsteps not far behind him, and after a few "Oooohs" and gasps from students relieved to have the problematic boy out of there, they both walked out. Roman had to quiet the class down, telling them that when they came back he would be assigning seats.

Dean sighed, both now in the empty, quiet hallway. Standing between long walls and lockers made him realize that he actually preferred the place full of chatter and commotion. That surprised him. Maybe it was the tension in the air after Roman walked out. He felt it, almost choking him to death, so he decided to turn his back to the man.

"Dean." He spoke, that voice one of the deepest sounds he'd ever heard, "Do you know why I am pulling you out here?"

Ambrose just stared far off into the distance, leaning against a locker in the process, still not looking up at Roman who had to walk his way in front of him, "Uh, let's see." He started counting with his fingers, "I interrupted one of your speeches. I am disruptive, annoying to the other kids. I disturb the peace in class and learning process..." He paused, it was almost as if he was reading off a script, when in reality he'd just been told those things so many times before. This was not the first time a pissed off teacher had taken him outside the classroom to scold the teen, "Oh, and I took this kid's seat- well, he technically took my spot so... I had a reason for that." He chuckled at the words, ticking Roman off. What was so funny?

"So that amuses you." The statement seemed to have annoyed the teen a bit more than necessary, specially since it hadn't come off as a question, but a fact. What did the man know about anything? Even if he tried to conceal it behind a chuckle and a nod, it was evident to Roman, "You like bothering people Dean? Because if you do then I will have no choice but to-"

"Ah forget it." The boy started to walk off, leaving the confused teacher behind, "I will take my ass to Cena's office myself." He looked back at Reigns just standing there and stretched his arms comfortably, "I don't need YOU for that."

"Dean where the hell do you think you're going?" He called out, the words appearing a little more loud than intended.

Ambrose just kept walking, "Not to your class that's for damn sure." Despite his voice becoming distant with every step the young boy took, it could still be heard, "I prefer Cena a million times anyway. We get along so don't worry about me." With that, he turned the corner, leaving Roman the only living soul on that hall.

The older man just stood there, shocked. In the years he'd been teaching, nothing quite like this had ever happened and he didn't know how to react if he was being honest. Every single type of individual possible had shown up to his class, from crazy weirdos to snobby, snappy daddy's boys. Each with their own personalities and actions triggered by those same personalities. Yea he would say he'd seen it all, but now he was not so sure. Despite his years on the constant grind, no student had ever walked off on him as if nothing, in a badass way almost. No. There was nothing funny or cool to Reigns at that moment about the little situation. He had to shake his head, shake off the thoughts of sudden amusement that arose. No. He had to take this damn serious. And damn serious he remained as he walked back into the classroom, trying extremely hard to conceal the chuckle that just kept showing up.

Ambrose headed off to the principal's office. John Cena, the self-proclaimed "Face Who Runs The Place". Aside from Mrs. Graham, Cena was probably the only other person Ambrose got along with, and quite well too. He was so easy to talk to and deal with. Dean would even go as far as to say he was pretty damn cool. Not to mention he would also forgive most of the boy's troubles, that he knew by now were many.

Dean didn't even knock when he arrived, Cena should probably have it pretty clear by then that he was spending half the year in that place. The look on the man's face registered everything but surprise as the teen entered the small, air-conditioned office, "What did you do now Dean?" Despite the obvious attempt at a serious tone, a hint of a smile crept up on the principal's face. Standing up from the giant, comfortable-looking computer chair, Cena made his way to where Dean was standing.

"Ah, you know... the usual." Ambrose smiled back and held his hands up defensively triggering a chuckle from Cena, his secretary choosing to simply shake her head.

John pulled out one of the chairs from the small closet and set it on what had become the young boy's usual spot, right in front of his desk, "Sit down Dean." He had to admit he actually liked chatting it up with the boy, their conversations being, in a way, educational.

Yea, this would definitely be way better than anything that stupid class had to offer, Dean thought. Whatever it was, he didn't want it.

An hour of chatter and laughter passed then school was out. Ambrose was the first one out the building, celebratory smirk on his face. He eyed the surroundings as thoughts of that day began showing up in his mind. That evening had been quite interesting no doubt, but as he walked on the now sunny scenery, dark shades in hand, he quickly realized those thoughts would have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

 _There you have it, after seriously toasting my brain trying to start this. Dean is such a douche it seems lol. Hope you all enjoyed. Reviews as always are welcomed!_


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday morning. What better way to spend a Sunday morning than fishing? The sun was up and the faint scent of grilled meat hung in the air. The only lake near Santa Fe was the place to be every weekend morning. Kites hung out in the air with children running rampant, chasing them shortly behind. The sun was out and the scenery was beautiful shades of greens and earthly browns, taking every living being's breath away. Despite Santa Fe being in the middle of the dessert, that lake was truly something to behold. The breeze was dry and gentle, the weather was just perfect for the activities those days brought.

Seth deeply inhaled the Summer air, taking it all in, taking advantage of this gorgeous weather. Yes, those were the last few days of Summer, with Fall looking to present itself in no time; but it was those days that were the best, somehow. He didn't know if it was a product of the weather being just right for anything really, or the activities that surfaced. There was something so fascinating, so comfortable, about a Sunday morning on those last days of Summer; on the brink of that line between the change in weather and season was where the real good times were.

As a product of the beautiful day, and customs that it brought, Seth's parents had decided this was the perfect time to catch some fish. It had been a tradition of many years for anyone living in Santa Fe, or the high-class families more specifically, to take advantage of Summer Sundays by fishing. Seth had no idea where that tradition had surfaced from or when, but it was something fascinating to him regardless. It was as if, all of a sudden, a group of people had woken up one Sunday morning in the middle of the Summer and just decided to invite everyone in sight to go fishing with them in the only lake they knew existed.

The young boy shook his head at all the thoughts that floated up in his mind. There was just so much peace and tranquility that came with sitting on his parent's very expensive boat, soaking in as much of the sun that was offered, and wait for all those aquatic creatures to take the bait, desperately failing to survive. Oh, and there was also the fact that they could eat the day's catch afterwards, but that was just a bonus. A very tasty bonus at that.

It was these days that Seth really got to think. His thoughts kept bubbling up like boiling water on a hot pot. His mind was like a sponge that currently absorbed everything around him and created all these ideas and different fragments of thought in his brain. Fragments that were suddenly interrupted by approaching footsteps behind. He didn't have enough time to turn around when Adrian Neville stuck a hand right in front of him, the action making the young boy nearly fall out of his chair and into the water.

"Jesus Neville!" He placed a hand on his chest and pressed firmly, feeling the beat of his heart as a loud, clear and fast thump, "You nearly gave a heart attack!" His breathing was heavy and his skin showed signs of approaching goosebumps. The heart attack thing was probably not a joke at this point.

"Sorry." Neville gave him an apologetic look but did not move his hand. The young boy looked over and noticed that the Brit was actually holding something and genuinely had not meant to scare him. He took the small apple juice box and muttered a quick "Thanks" before the younger boy settled down on the chair next to him and let out a satisfied sigh, "Nice day to be outside isn't it?"

Seth nodded, "Of course it is."

Neville regarded the slick fishing rod on the older boy's hands while taking a sip of his own drink, "Catch anything yet?"

Rollins shook his head in obvious disappointment, "Not even a damn object." His eyes went to Neville's rod leaning at the edge of the boat, "Yours shook a little as soon as you left though."

The smaller boy nearly jumped out of his seat, giving Seth some serious flashbacks of when he'd been scared to death just a few minutes prior, the thoughts eliciting an involuntary smile, "Are you serious?!" Neville asked, clearly worried. He grabbed the fishing rod and shook it wildly.

"Yea." Seth tried his best to sound sorry, the attempt only making him chuckle loudly.

"Damn it Seth!" Neville remained trying desperately, and failing, to attract fish to his neglected rod. He looked over to the boy, who was laughing his butt off at those actions, "What's so damn funn- I- why didn't you do something?!" Adrian was absolutely livid and that only made Seth laugh louder. Karma sure was something.

"Well you just left, and I got my own rod to worry about." He tried to explain himself in-between amusement, "You would've done the same thing."

Adrian wasn't having it, "Way to help a friend!" He continued to shake the rod, trying to see if maybe some fish would magically be attracted to it again, "Do you not know how awesome it could've been if I had caught something? Actually caught something?!"

Seth shrugged, still trying to plead his case, "Who's to say that was something." He looked over to the big body of water, "For all we know- heck, it could've just been a bottle or something. Do you know how big this place is?"

The look he got from Neville after that was completely blank. Yea, he was not falling for it, "This lake Seth, has no trash." He pointed at the water, "Why do you think they charge you to enter?"

Rollins took a sip of his apple juice, "Because they're stupid."

"Because it's clean." Adrian quickly butted in, "One of the few clean places we have left in nature!"

Seth just scoffed, completely no-selling that last part. Whatever. Neville was just angry he was actually really good at fishing, normally catching anywhere from 5 to 6 pretty big creatures with each visit. The younger boy, on the other hand, was lucky if he could even get one. Seth would usually be on the receiving end of all the compliments from the adults, and that obviously irked him.

As was expected, Neville kept whining and complaining about his rod, muttering to himself how much of an ass Seth was. The teen just blocked him out completely, focusing solely on his task. Fishing. Catching some trout was all that mattered in that moment to him... until he spotted that figure in the distance.

And what an attractive figure it was.

Roman. The man was walking along the lake, eyeing the water. He looked so damn majestic to Seth, as he usually did, that being nothing new. It had been a week since first witnessing just how good looking Mr. Reigns was, but every time seemed to be different, more intense. He looked better each passing day it seemed, and that was terribly painful to the teen. Why did he have to be his teacher? Sure, he enjoyed the sight his much older professor brought, but it wasn't fair. The fact he was not only his teacher, but won in the age department by a long shot, meant Rollins couldn't admit to anyone those sudden feelings that arose each time he was even in the mere presence of the man. That aura of complete mystery and intimidation Roman brought each time didn't help matters either. He had to keep as far away from the attractive being as was allowed.

Still didn't mean he couldn't stare... or go say hi. That was when a lightbulb flashed a bright white in his brain. If it could've been seen in that moment, many people would've gone blind, that was for sure. The idea came so suddenly to him, but so strong, making the younger teen nearly jump out of the chair and drop his drink in the process.

Neville sensed the anticipation in the older boy's actions, "Where are you going?"

Seth eyed the kid, confusion clear on his face. It wasn't like he could lie at this point, the way he'd gone about things gave him away. He was so obvious, people read him like an open book, "I just spotted one of my teachers." He looked around, starting to sweat a little in the process, but not because of the weather, "I am thinking about going out to say hi to him."

"Of course you are." Neville went back to focusing on his rod. He looked so peaceful, lazy almost, which was not the usual.

"You wanna come?" It wasn't like Seth wanted the teen to go with him and ruin the actual alone time he could get with Roman, but what could he do? It would seem weird if he suddenly ran out alone like some desperate bastard.

Thankfully, all Neville did was shake his head, not once even looking over to see who that teacher Seth was blushing wildly at the mere thought of was. It was none of his business and he needed to catch some fish, Rollins leaving now posing an advantage, "Nah. You go on Seth." He looked over to the standing boy and smiled, "I'm too lazy today."

Rollins chuckled, completely forgetting his mischievous ways that morning, "I can tell." He looked over the boat, making sure Roman was still there, which he was, thankfully, as majestic and handsome as ever, "Be right back then."

The younger boy nodded once before Seth walked quickly inside the boat to get to the exit. He heard some chatter trapped within the walls of the fancy sail. The spot was quite large and mega luxurious. The decoration reminiscent of something out of a mafia movie, with striking white leather couches and pale red walls embracing the compact rooms. The boat rocked lightly in-tune with the water underneath, helping the atmosphere feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

Seth passed by the opening to the high-tech kitchen area when he heard a familiar, female voice call, "Seth. Sweetheart?"

The teen stopped on his way out the gliding, glass door, "Yes mother?"

"Where are you going baby?" Seth had no choice but to walk into the kitchen where his parents and the visitors greeted him with huge, proud smiles illuminating their aging complexions.

He pointed towards the small, oval window that looked out onto the bay, "Just spotted one of my teachers. Thought I might go say hi."

His mother, Stephanie, who was accommodated on one of the stools near their mini bar, stretched her hand out to him and with a wide, tooth-flashing smile said, "Come here." Her tone was as soft as silk and sweet as fresh honey. The young boy grabbed her hand and directly settled in the woman's arms, into her welcoming embrace. She had always been extra affectionate with him, constantly making sure that her son would never lack that maternal touch. Still smiling as bright and big as ever, she kissed her son's forehead making a loud smack-like sound, "Isn't he precious?" She hugged him tightly and they both rocked a little, in-tune with each other.

Stephanie turned to Hunter and their guests, Neville's parents, who smiled in return and nodded. Seth noticed the amount of bottles around the shiny, marmol surface. Containers with everything from champagne, to vodka and whiskey, decorated their table. Some bottles full, others empty, but each exuding an extremely unique and exotic smell. That, and the boat's constant gentle rocking made him nauseous.

Stephanie kept hugging him as tight as she could, more than she had in a while; he caught the faint scent of liquor on her light blue cardigan sweater, "I love you baby boy. So much. So, so much."

"Alright, alright. Stephanie." Hunter quickly chimed in, putting his drink down, pure Jagermeister. The pretty woman looked on, pearly whites still flashing, "That's enough. Let Seth go do whatever it was he had to do. Let him see his teacher." He motioned for Seth, "Go on son."

Stephanie let him go, not before planting 5 more kisses all over the boy's face all while telling him how handsome and smart he was. Seth gave a quick hug to his father and excused himself from the chatty, upbeat room. That had taken a while. He nearly jogged out of the damn boat, that thank heavens was stationed right at bay so he could get out with ease. They hadn't sailed out, and now Seth knew it had been so his parents could drink.

As his feet quickly moved, descending the steps that separated them from ground, he worried Roman might not even be there anymore. Whoever caught a glance at him might think he was being chased, or was doing the chasing, with how fast he was going. The boy was surprisingly agile and fast given how he'd never worked out a day in his life. Despite laziness and lack of time kicking in, his body was developing quite well, a few lean muscles making their appearance as he continued striding along the edge of the water.

He stopped and eyed the spot where his teacher had been just moments ago and sighed in desperation. He wasn't there anymore. The young teen looked around the area as the burning sun poked at his skin, squeezing tiny drops of sweat from his back. Individuals walked by, but none of them were Roman. Seth sighed in disappointment and turned towards the boat, head down and breathing a bit heavy, trying to re-supply his lungs with as much oxygen as possible.

"Seth!" He heard being called out, "Seth!" That deep voice could not be mistaken anywhere. The small teen turned around and there was Roman walking towards him. His hair was up in a bun; he was wearing dark blue basketball shorts that went down to his knees and a black tank top. His handsome face was adorned with dark, expensive looking shades, and a large smile engraved in his more-than-perfect features. Seth had to remember to breathe when his eyes caught sight of that human being. He looked, as was the usual, pretty darn handsome; hell, he looked nonhuman almost. How could this type of man be created? How could such a good looking being even be planned along with the rest of them? That was impossible.

Despite the teen's strange thoughts making its routine appearance, he mustered up enough brain to wave and answer back, "Hi Mr. Reigns!"

The older man continued heading towards him with a pace and strut that almost made it seem like he was floating. The breeze in that place did not help Seth's body temperature as he continued to stare like he was starstruck or something. Yea, he must've looked like a complete dumbass with the way his mouth was slightly open and his eyes wide awake, despite the sun hitting him right in the face. He felt tiny drops of sweat tickle the back of his neck, which he rubbed away as he patiently watched that piece of gorgeous man make his way towards him. Despite the hot weather being more than annoying to him, Reigns could take all the time he needed, Seth would happily wait and stare some more.

Roman stood in front of the young boy, a huge smile present on his face. He placed a large, tan hand on Seth's shoulder, "How are you doing Seth?" The all-black, tribal sleeve tattoo made an appearance in all its glory. Seth had caught glimpses of it before while in class, when the young teacher would help him out with an assignment. He knew the man was inked but never imagined it to take up his whole right arm and chest. It was so intricate, so beautiful and detailed. It fit Roman perfectly and complimented his intimidating appearance quite well. Rollins didn't really like people with tattoos, but for some reason, his professor was an exception, the large piece adding more to his persona instead of taking away.

His breathing got even heavier at the sight of the work being in full display. He constantly admired how gorgeous Roman was in class, but had never seen him quite like this. So... so casual and carefree. It was a good change from the usual suited up, serious demeanor he put up when teaching; that was slowly put away and the teen got a good look at what it would be like to hang out with Reigns in another setting that wasn't school. Thank heavens for Sunday fishing.

In all his thinking, he completely forgot about the question the man had made him, "Seth?" Roman eyed him intently and waved that same hand in front of the young boy.

"Huh? Huh?" He shook his head, trying to make all those thoughts go away, "What happened?"

The handsome man's expression quickly turned into concern, "Is everything alright?"

Seth chuckled quietly. He must've sound and look like a complete dumbass to Roman, "Of course." He scoffed, shaking his head some more, "Of course professor. I am doing amazing today."

The older man chuckled as well, his white, perfectly straight teeth gloriously on full display, "Please Seth, we aren't in school. Call me Roman."

"Really?" The young boy was not used to this type of address towards a grown-up, or his teacher out of all people.

Roman nodded, "Of course. I don't mind at all. I am not like the other teachers as you might've guessed by now."

The kid smiled, flashing his also perfect teeth, knowing damn well he would never look like Roman, but still trying his best to look a bit less crazy, "Well, um, Roman." That made him chuckle briefly, "How are you doing today?"

"That's better!" Their smiles never once fading, the raven-haired man looked around the place a little before continuing, "I am quite speechless right now if I'm being fully honest. This place..." He took a deep breath, "it's really something isn't it?"

"Yes it is." The boy also looked around and stretched a little, catching a glance from Roman, "We come here all the time. Do you usually come here Roman?" He was surprised at how easy he was getting used to calling him by his name.

Reigns shook his head, "This is actually my first time. I feel so bad that I hadn't been here at all since I arrived at the start of Summer." He frowned lightly, "Now that it's almost over, I realize all that I missed out on."

"Well maybe next year you will be able to visit more often." Seth nodded in response, hopeful that the man would not be moving out so quickly, or at all.

Roman smiled and nodded back, stupefying the young teen even more. "Yea." He had him at the palm of his hand, whether he knew that or not, "I definitely will."

"There you are!" Both guys turned around and saw Randy Orton standing a few steps away, hands resting by his sides and a big smile on his face once he saw who Roman had been talking to.

"Hi Mr. Orton!"

Seth waved and Randy did the same, "Hello Seth. How are you?" The man approached them and gave Rollins a quick hug. He was tall and very handsome, only not as good looking as Roman of course who was reminiscent of a god, but he definitely had nature on his side when it came to looks. Just like his companion, Orton was wearing black basketball shorts and a sleeveless white cotton shirt, which also helped showcase his muscular arms covered in a series of skull tattoos. No one in school ever knew fully what his art consisted of, but it was very well done.

Seth returned the hug and smile, "I am doing really good Mister, how are you?"

"I'm amazing young man. Just hanging out with a good friend of mine, who I'm guessing you know quite well by now." The man paused a bit to regard Roman briefly who smiled. He turned to Rollins once again and in charming tone spoke, "And please... call me Randy."

Roman quickly butted in, "That's what I'm saying!" All 3 of them let go of long chuckles before he spoke again, "Guess I don't have to introduce you 2 then."

"Nope." Seth quickly answered and they all, once again, chuckled briefly, "Mr. Or- Randy was my science teacher Sophomore and Freshman years."

"Nice." Roman blew out a whistle, somehow jealous that his friend knew the boy more than he did.

"Well I better head back." Seth pointed to the white boat behind him, probably the biggest one there, "My parents will worry about me."

"Well..." Reigns did something that surprised them both. Taking a step forward, the young man placed his ink-free arm around the teen and squeezed gently. He noticed how small the boy actually was compared to him and that somehow elicited a sense of satisfaction. A satisfaction he had no idea could come out of this, "See you tomorrow in class, Seth."

All the young boy did was nod, completely shocked. He blushed a wild shade of red and kept his eyes glued to the ground, only looking up to smile at both men once.

Randy did the same thing and went on to hug the boy, which of course did not have the same effect on Rollins as when Roman had done it. Orton's hug was just friendly and carefree, the other man's however, had felt so different. Almost like there was a current exchanging ways between the 2 and, as always, Seth did not know how to feel about that.

"Take care kid." Randy called out while the young boy jogged towards his boat, a sudden uncharted feeling of pure desperation invading him with each quick step he took.

"He's a very nice kid." Roman now turned to his friend as soon as Seth had gone inside, a bit quicker than usual. They both started slowly walking the opposite direction while chatting.

"Yes he is." The older man took out a cigarette from his pocket and a lighter. He lit the small, white stick and blew out smoke, which hit Reigns right in the face, "I'm sorry."

"Geez man. Could you have aimed any better?" He chuckled and Randy did too.

"Not me." The man put out his arms in defense but kept on walking, "The damn wind is starting up."

"Yea. We should probably leave." Roman was a lot more unfocused than he'd been just minutes ago before... before bumping into Seth. There was just something about the kid. Something special that he could not figure out. He was really nice, sure, but there was just something else behind all that kindness emanating from him, and for some odd reason, Roman wanted to find out what it was, "So you've had him before."

Randy took the cigarette from between his lips and puffed out the smoke, this time making sure to not hit his friend with a huge cloud of it, "Yep." He motioned briefly behind them, emphasizing his point, "He's a real good kid. For sure one of the best you'll ever have, if not the best. He's real well-behaved, smart and nice. Nothing to worry about there. Lucky bastard."

Roman scoffed a little but smiled to himself in victory, "I know that." His shielded eyes looked around, eyeing the gentle water making tiny splashes on the edge, "Just wished I'd only have him to worry about. Wish a few of my other students were like him."

Orton immediately caught on, "By 'other students'... do you actually mean, 'another student'?"

"You know who I'm talking about?" Roman quickly regarded Orton, who continued his comfortable smoking.

"I might have an idea." The older man let out a chuckle.

Reigns responded, quicker than intended, "Dean Ambrose. You know the boy?"

Randy again chuckled, louder this time, and blew out a smoke-filled whistle, "You kidding me? Biology. Last year. Don't know much about him though, he barely showed up."

The Samoan shook his head quickly, frustrated. Of course he wouldn't show up, "Well he better show up to my class."

Orton scoffed, "And what are you gonna do about that?"

"I'll do whatever I have to do." His tone, despite being frank, was not reassuring to Randy at all.

The taller man let out a big laugh, throwing his head back in the process, "Aw man, there is nothing we can do about that. You think I didn't try? Cena really likes the kid. There's some serious old-school politicking going on there. The man has his favorites, and Dean is one of them."

He continued laughing quietly, Roman not knowing what was so funny. At first he was skeptical towards the whole "Cena is good friend's with Dean" crap, but now he was not so sure. He recalled their first little encounter outside his class, and how the teen had mentioned something about really liking Cena, "Well I will do anything to get that boy on the right track. Whether Cena likes it or not."

"Good luck with that." Randy smirked and Reigns sensed a bit of sarcasm there which made him roll his eyes, making the orbs near the back of his head. He didn't need Randy's support in this anyway. One thing was for damn certain and that was all that mattered: Dean Ambrose would be a completely different person by the end of the school year.

* * *

"Hey Jey how are you?"

"Alright uce. You?"

There was a brief sigh on one side of the line, "Good. It's been better lately." There was silence on the other end, waiting for the next part. Anticipating it. Defeated, he asked, "How are they?"

Jey sighed, hesitation running rampant in the air, hanging out, trapping them both in deafening silence for a few eternal minutes, "Look man..." Roman sensed what was coming next, he saw it a million miles away, like a gun about to be shot at him, "I- uh... I don't know how long I will be able to keep this up." His cousin's voice sounded tired, exhausted even, causing Roman to close his eyes tightly and take a deep breath. This had definitely affected them in so many ways and it shone in the resignation laced with his voice. The once upbeat sound.

"Jey." That's all that could come out of Roman's mouth. He did not know how to address the current situation, he just didn't. Despite that, he knew exactly what he wanted out of this call, that was for damn sure.

"Roman, do you not realize how hard it has been for me? Everyone is broken, that is the usual." Those last words headed towards Reigns with the speed of light, stabbing him right in the chest, triggering a burst of pain quickly being ignored by what came next, "And I think Jimmy might be catching on. I tried but-" His voice was a desperate sob, making the man's heart sink even further. He quickly stopped himself from any consolation though. He couldn't continue feeling shitty, not because of this out of all things.

"Jey. Jey listen to me." He took a deep breath and thought very carefully of what to say next, not give away too much, "I am fine ok. I'm doing well. You cannot tell them a single thing you hear me? Do... not... tell them. Not even Jimmy." He sighed, the next sentence coming out as quietly as he could, given the lack of oxygen wrapping him suddenly, "No one can know."

There was heavy breathing at the end of the other line. It took the younger Samoan some time to answer, and when he did, it was nothing but an "Ok". Short and simple. Laced with feeling. Pain disguised in that one word.

Both cousins said their brief goodbyes, the conversation ending there. Roman placed his phone on the coffee table in front and slowly made way towards his bedroom. The king-sized bed accommodated in the middle looked tiny within the large space, making him smile. He had achieved so much in life, but could not get used to these type of luxuries just yet. The type of things he could now give himself with ease that had only been but a distant dream before.

Roman arrived home close to midnight after hanging out with Randy in various bars around town. The social scene in Santa Fe caused some extreme exhaustion in him; so taking a good look at the huge comfortable bed waiting made him too happy. The large man plopped down on the spongy surface, eyes scanning the ceiling, looking for what? He didn't know. A sudden feeling of loneliness and regret invaded him, but he ignored both as fast as he could. No. It was too late to feel any sort of remorse for what he'd done. There was no time and there never had been. It wasn't like he felt terrible for what had transpired. His happiness had been found the moment he'd decided to take that one step. So why was he now feeling this vast hollow in his chest? Nothing was missing from his life that truly affected him, so why feel this way?

What time he'd fallen asleep exactly, he didn't know. It had all happened as some sort of blur in his head, but even in sleep his mind continued scanning for some type of answer to that one question.

Why now?

* * *

 _OKAY. Seems like you guys now get a peek inside Roman Reigns and his own personal problems. I wanted to introduce each character on a separate chapter so there you have it! Hope you all liked how this is going so far. Reviews are welcomed as usual._

 _Also. I won't get to update regularly in the next 3 months or so. I'm moving out of town and will be extremely busy so please be patient if the stories don't progress quickly._


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks had gone by and school continued to be a pain in the ass for Dean. It felt like a complete waste of time with each breath taken inside those walls. Those same structures that trapped him and constricted his every cell. There was really nothing that could be done, as much as he wanted to just run away from it all. Nothing could be said, no damn thing would get him out of that prison, and doing so presented too much risk anyway. Risk he could not afford to take.

And so he continued to go. Each and every day, occasionally ditching and whatnot. If he was being completely blunt, he was even getting tired of ditching so much. Jumping fences and tricking clueless staff could become exhausting, even for someone like him. It presented way too much activity, actions that drained him of any energy. Whenever he got back home all he had the will to do anymore was sleep. Plop down on his block-like bed and drift off, dream of that one source. That one day where he could be free. His mind was constantly in training mode, looking for ways to escape; just leave it all behind with no trace from the past catching up to him. Ditching and smoking pot were not enough distractions, never quite coming close; his conscious just went off. It just happened and could not be stopped. That one faithful day. That time would eventually come... it had to. There had just been too much shit thrown in his life for nothing to happen; everything had to change eventually, whether for better or for worse remained unknown to him. It didn't matter, change was coming, he felt it every damn time his mind allowed.

 **RING**

Thoughts immediately faded at the metallic sound of the school bell, so loud and annoying it nearly made his head explode. He was still struck from the sudden escapade his brain had taken him on, as was the usual, with every time just presenting itself a little more intense, a bit more strong. He did not want to look up however, look around, gawk at the reality that was his life. Stare it right in the face.

"Alright students." Any form of thought he'd had of ignoring it all immediately and completely vanished at the sound of that voice, its deep sound, "Hopefully this assignment is done for the majority of you." The figure behind the big desk looked around and Dean could sense those gray eyes on him, examining him for any trace of life. His head was down, forehead resting on the now warm desk, taking in the dark, but not quite feeling its surroundings. He could tell the man's words were towards the classroom, but his attention was to the young teen fully, trying to figure out whether or not he had finished his assignment. The answer to that question was pretty obvious, "As for the ones who haven't, Wednesday is the due date."

"Thank you Mr. Reigns but it won't be necessary." The biggest brat in class: Dolph Ziggler, regarded Roman with the smirkiest of smirks and a nod. He stood up, walking towards the teacher along with the rest of the class, too much confidence clearly on display, something he did not lack. Wavy, bleached blonde hair was tied loosely behind his head and tanned body glistened under a baby blue muscle shirt. Kid looked like he'd just been to the beach, as if there was anything remotely resembling a beach even within 300 miles of the small town. His orange-colored tan, however, expressed itself differently, "Good thing I finished mine on time." He handed Roman the piece of paper, his finished assignment.

The handsome man eyed it intently and glared up at Ziggler, small smile on his face, "Thank you Mr. Ziggler."

He set the paper aside before the surfer-looking teen quickly corrected, "Please Mr. Reigns..." He chuckled briefly and shone one of his signature full-toothed smiles, "call me Dolph."

Roman couldn't help but let out a quick chuckle himself and shake his head, "Alright, Dolph."

The stuck-up boy winked, "See you tomorrow Roman."

With that he walked off, pulling the small, American Eagle backpack over his shoulders, confidence radiating off his walk. Reigns' eyes widened briefly, it wasn't like the first name allowance was mutual but whatever.

The rest of the students kept walking out, some handing him completed papers, the rest simply avoiding his gaze at all costs. He stretched a little and checked his phone, something he never did during class but the lack of anything to do asked for. A small smile presented itself whenever one of the many enamored girls in his class would wink at him and blush.

The room was nearly empty when Seth approached him, worried look on the pretty kid's face, "Mr. Reigns?"

Roman looked up from the bright, flashing screen and was met by a pair of deep, chocolate brown eyes, "Come on Seth. I told you, you can call me Roman." The young man's bright look rapidly dissipated upon registering the concern on Rollins' face, "What's wrong?"

Seth's cheeks flushed a bit but he shook it off with a tiny smile, nearly nonexistent, "Roman."

"That's better!" He pointed towards the trash can, the new smile that crept up not leaving his handsome features yet, "Thank you for the apple by the way. That sucker did not make it past class like I thought it would." Even with the small, genuine laugh emanating from the young teen, Roman could tell something was not right, making his newly found smile quickly fade, "What's wrong?"

Seth looked around briefly, letting his guard down and sinking into his shoulders, something bothering him for sure, "I, uh- I saw my quiz."

"Yes, I passed them out today." The teacher placed his elbows on the desk and shifted his body closer, paying full attention to what the boy wanted to say, "What happened?"

"I saw my grade and..." Roman's posture also fell a little, he knew what was coming, "it was awful."

Reigns shook his head, "Of course not Seth, it was not awful."

Despite trying to keep everything on the low, Rollins' voice came out louder than originally planned, "Yes it is! It was terrible."

"No Seth you're wrong."

"Oh just like I was totally wrong in that quiz?" The teen looked around, completely losing his cool, but trying to regain it at the same time to no success; it was difficult to watch for Roman who had not seen him like this, ever. Seth Rollins was always composed, a really gentle and well-behaved kid. He'd yet to witness this behavior in the short weeks they had been together, "I did absolutely terrible and that is- that is not acceptable! At all." He went on to take the quiz from his backpack, searching desperately and failing altogether.

All Roman could do was wait. He wanted to help Seth, he really did, but there was no way that could be done with the current ways the teen was exhibiting. He first had to calm down then they could work something out, but as usual Roman just waited patiently for the boy with nothing to say. He still had to get used to being on alert for unexpected occurrences; situations such as this one or what had gone down a couple weeks back; the one moment Roman could recall so vividly, having the words Dean Ambrose had so confidently muttered before walking away still deeply engraved in his mind. He'd been left quite dumbfounded if he ever had to admit.

Speaking of Ambrose.

Apparently the rowdy teen had not left just yet. He remained in his seat eyeing both individuals intently. He not once showed any signs of movement to pick up his things, or gave much mind to the fact that school was over, which was rare since he was the first one out each day. Roman looked over to the boy and their eyes met, icy blue to burning gray. In that moment everything seemed to have frozen; a spell appeared to have been cast on the teacher to where he could not take his damn eyes off. A spell that looked to have had no effect on the young boy who began to clean up his desk, tossing supplies, a mere pencil and bare sheet of paper, into his bag; not once caring if things landed safely. Reigns had noticed before that Dean was anything but organized, typically not bothered by anything relating to that class, disappointing Roman each time. He wanted nothing more than to get the line of slackers on track, and Dean was in the lead. Every passing day, however, proved to be more of a challenge than the last; instead of things moving for the better, they ran for the worse.

The young teacher took that opportunity to speak up, the spell now wearing off thanks to Ambrose, "Didn't notice you there Dean." No answer was given from the other side of the potential conversation, one Roman wanted to start. The kid simply stood up, walking over to the over-sized desk, next to Seth.

Rollins had finally retrieved the stapled packet from his bag and that sea of heavy-looking books and binders, no wonder the kid was in good shape from all that carrying around. The small teen eyed it briefly before placing it in front of Roman, not paying much attention to the fact that Dean was standing right next to him as if he'd been invited to join in, eyes traveling back and forth between both guys. Seth just completely no-sold his existence, opting instead to keep a focused gaze on Roman, "Look. This is awful."

Roman did not once do so much as to think about the papers in front of him. Instead it was Dean who picked them up and flipped through, paying extra close attention to the ones the younger boy had gotten wrong. He was so painfully focused and Reigns had to contain a chuckle that bubbled up suddenly. He could not understand why, but underneath all that macho persona, Dean was quite the goofy individual, and Roman could not help but find it funny. It was as if everyone else failed to spot it but him; the quick flashes Ambrose gave which were ultra rare occasions when he wasn't flipping the world off. Roman believed in a universal rule, one stating that there is always a different side to what everyone tries to be, the true side. Dean Ambrose was not exempt to that rule and it was too obvious at times.

After going through the pages a bit more, he spoke, "Final grade..." He looked closer and shook his head, "a 'C'." With each shake of the head, lips smacked loudly, "How disappointing. Wonder how daddy is going to take this one." With a smirk, he quickly dropped the paper on the desk and began walking off, Seth now eyeing him, clear anger registered.

Roman chose to ignore it. It was no use arguing over it with Dean or give him a suspension, that was exactly what the boy wanted and Roman did not want to give him that victory. No. He had to be patient and insistent when it came to Ambrose, get things right, the way they are supposed to work. He chose instead to grant his full attention back to Seth, that being something he could do and would actually work, "Seth, a 'C' is not that bad."

"You're right, it's not THAT bad." The young boy quickly shook his head and glanced around the room making Reigns immediately regret his choice of words. Rollins too ignored Ambrose's remarks but was still very much bothered by it all, "I cannot afford a "bad" on anything. At all." He took the papers, round eyes immediately drawn to the big 'C' in red pen. The sight was gigantic to him, a clear proof that he'd failed in something, an occurrence that did not present itself often, if ever. It couldn't have been more obvious or clear to him at that moment... something had to be done. As much as he didn't want to, things could not remain that way. The words that came out of his mouth next were so foreign, automatically despised, "There has to be something we can do. There has to be something I can do."

Roman looked around, rubbing the back of his neck in the process. He'd failed to realize how sore the soft spot was and how much this whole school routine had been catching up to him. He scanned the room, looking for ways in which he could help the hopeful boy. A few seconds passed when it finally hit him, "Well, there is something you could do."

"What? What is it? What can I do?" The small teen immediately responded, shooting out ideas in the process. He placed his smaller hands on the desk along with the quiz, "Extra credit? Take the quiz again?" He knew that last one was far-fetched but had to try.

The answer that came out of Reigns was quite unexpected to him, "Tutoring."

His face immediately fell a little, as if that was any more possible. He would be lying if he said he was expecting tutoring to be an option, the concept being far away from his mind before the words were muttered, "Tutoring?"

"Yes." Roman stood up and walked over to where Rollins was standing, hand resting on the boy's shoulder, "Tutoring is the only thing I can think of that would truly help. You would not only do better on your next assignments, but would learn new concepts. It is a win any way you look at it." The man offered him a reassuring smile, hoping this would work for the boy.

Seth thought about it a bit more but decided on not arguing. Tutoring was not something he wanted to do, but if that was the only option, it that was what it took to never have to see any hint disappointment from his parents, then he would do it, "Okay." He nodded briefly, all while something popped up in his brain, a question, "You're going to be my tutor... right?" He was more shy than usual, but that was pretty much an established thing whenever he got even a few mere feet close to Roman.

"I don't know about that Seth." The man's hand fell from his shoulder accompanied by a sigh, "I have other things to do after school, unfortunately. There's other professors that would gladly help you. I'm pretty sure." His head fell and Rollins could tell the teacher had genuinely wanted to be there.

He had to think of a solution quick. Alone time with Roman Reigns? That was something he could definitely live with, "What if- what if we do this at lunch then? During lunch." The teen shrugged a little.

Reigns pouted, leaving Seth breathless once again, "Maybe that could work." He thought about it some more, gaze traveling to the ceiling. After a bit more thought he smiled and Seth's face quickly lit up, something he hadn't intended on doing, "Tell you what. Lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. That sound good?"

The smile that next adorned the teen's features was exquisite, as big and bright as ever, cheeks flushing a pretty peach color, "Sounds- sounds great profess- I mean Roman." The older man's smile only grew, "I like that."

"Alrighty then..." The handsome individual walked behind the desk and picked up his black, leather portfolio. He placed some folders and books inside, not in any way how Ambrose had done earlier, and walked with the young teen to the door, keeping a hand on the small shoulder, as had become the custom, "See you on Wednesday for lunch then, Seth." They both exited the room, Roman turning off the lights and closing the door while at it, not locking up in case the janitors went in to clean. He looked over to Rollins, who still hadn't managed to erase that contagious smile from his face. It wasn't like that bothered Roman at all, on the contrary, "Don't forget. Lunch."

"I won't... Roman. See you on Wednesday." With that and a wave, the teen walked off, exiting the building through the nearest door. Roman sighed and smiled once again. His lunch was definitely going to be quite interesting from now on.

In their daze, both guys had failed to notice the figure standing in front of the most beat up locker in school. The one that with small, sharpie-written letters warned each and every living soul to stay away. Reigns started walking the opposite direction of where Seth had gone and did see it. The door was opened and so he could not make out the face. That jean and boot combo, however, could not be mistaken.

Dean.

He was putting something into his locker, so focused, not noticing the taller man standing right behind him, "Ahem." Still unheard, Roman spoke, "Dean."

The young boy turned around quick, body tensing a little. He'd definitely not expected Roman to be standing there. His sharp expressions registered a bit of shock which was quickly masked by a smirk, shielded by a sarcastic tone of voice, "What's up Mister." He placed some more unknown items into the compact space and shut the small, dark yellow door, "Or should I call you 'Roman'?" His body turned towards the older man and leaned against the locker.

"You can call me that too. It really is not a matter of having a privilege if that's how you view it." Thick arms folded across his broad chest, and taking a page out of the Dean's book, walked over to lean 2 locker doors away from the boy, but still pretty close, keeping his body towards Ambrose, who was now smirking but facing away. The halls were already empty, not one soul presenting itself; it surprised Roman to see Dean still out there.

"Oh." Ambrose shuffled a bit on his spot, making Roman smirk. He noticed the brunette usually moved a bit more than normal, whether on his seat or doing one of his goofy dances while standing, he seemed to not be able to contain himself. This time was not an exception, and so the boy kept moving his shoulders back and forth gently, "So you mean Seth and Dolph are not the only ones who get to do it? I thought only rich, well-behaved kids got that chance."

Roman shook his head, eyes rolling wildly, "No Dean. Anyone can call me Roman, including you. I really don't mind." He glanced over Ambrose's shoulder, eyeing the door Seth had exited from just a few minutes ago, thoughts of the other teen quickly bubbling up, "You know... what you said to Seth earlier... that was really uncalled for Dean."

"Oh here we go." Now it was Ambrose who rolled his baby blue eyes, "Not another lecture. I already had it very clear with the first and last one we had." They both recalled the little encounter outside the classroom, the first time Dean had shown up to class, "I'm already sitting way in front where you put me. I moved." That part was true. Roman smirked some more, picturing the young boy's face when he'd seen that his new seat was way in front of the class. Right in front of the teacher's desk he oh-so despised, "Now I don't think this is a terrible thing. Goody Rollins can damn well defend himself." The boy kept talking, his voice not once raising its tone, instead as a way to avoid another argument in a calm way. Surprisingly, he did not feel like arguing this time.

"Yes it is. And Seth does not have to do anything when it's you who could stop." Roman interfered, still not knowing why he couldn't be annoyed with the kid. Somehow, each and every time they had an argument, no matter the size, he just couldn't get angry at all, "You love bothering Seth and that is unacceptable to me."

"Well then..." That was when Ambrose took a step forward, getting right in the older man's face, taunting him. He was not much shorter than Roman, maybe only 2 or 3 inches under, but Reigns didn't quite know if he could be taken down easily. It would definitely take some effort. Bark and bite were equal when it came to Dean, "Why don't you do something about it?" The bigger man picked out the scent of cinnamon laced with the kid's hot breath. He also caught the tinge of something else, smoke maybe, in the air. The boy spoke with such confidence, such reassurance with a spark of humor to it. He was definitely a talker and Reigns knew right then that Dean could be very convincing and manipulative if need be. That gift had just been generously handed to him in spades. He would have to watch out for that; watch to not fall for that damn spell Ambrose could cast with ease, "Huh... Roman? Why don't you do something about that? You want to defend your precious Seth... your favorite student. Why don't you take action?" He stretched his arms and smirked, a deep dimple making its appearance on his left cheek, a shake of the head following, "You should damn well know by now words don't work with me. I need action." At this point the teen's raspy voice was a low sound, trying its best to become menacing. Not once failing.

Roman just chuckled lightly. He would not fall for it, and he was trying too damn hard not to, the idea of what Dean wanted him to do appearing crystal clear. No, he would not hit the kid. He would not apply violence despite the situation. That just wasn't him. Not anymore.

With that in mind, what came out next he knew would apply an equal amount of pain to the boy, if not more. All without having to move a muscle, "Tell you what..." He did not once step back or lost his position. They were still as close as could be, cool, minty breath tickling Dean gently, whose smirk had not left since the taunt begun, "I would do it right now... I really would. If that's what makes you happy, don't think I wouldn't raise my hand and-"

"Then do it." The tone of that raspy, deep voice did not once lose its warning.

"No, Dean." He let go of another brief chuckle and shook his head, "I think something else would be better." He eyed the young teen who simply stared back, curious, without muttering a word, waiting for the suggestion that came next, "Tutoring."

"What?" Roman did not get to finish his thought when the questions began falling like grenades, the kid's expression crashing even harder, "Why?! What the fuck, why me? My grades aren't bad. Why do I have to pay for this? Why do I have to?"

"Dean. Dean." The man kept his gaze fixed on Ambrose, voice calm, curiosity and amusement taking its toll. He knew exactly what this would do and enjoyed every second of it, "A 'C' on the recent quiz is not good."

"What the fuck? Of course it is! I have a better grade than most..." He motioned towards the classroom, more than annoyed, "if not all those chumps. Hell, I have the exact same grade Rollins got. Remember? Your favorite student?"

Roman just shrugged, trying to contain the huge smile that threatened to form, resuming his walk before it would "Well, Rollins wants to fix it. And so should you." He shrugged, "Sorry." After that, he walked off, leaving Dean an angry mess. The way he'd reacted was exactly how the man had seen it coming. He'd done it many times before with past students, and this just amused him even more knowing it was Dean. Yea, the school's badass was going to take tutoring. Calculus tutoring at that, "Oh, and Dean..." He regarded the boy who stood glued to the same spot, fuming, "See you Wednesday for lunch alright. My room."

"Wednesday at lun- Roman!" He nearly had to jog behind the teacher, struggling to catch up with the wide steps the man took.

"Oh now you wanna call me Roman." The smirk did not leave him, he continued strolling as casually as possible to his destination.

"Mr. Reigns. Roman. Roman please, I will do anything!"

Both individuals walked along the brightly decorated corridor, Reigns not once stopping for Dean who kept struggling quickly behind, "Nice, then I guess tutoring it is."

"Not that- you- you can't be serious. You don't understand. Send me to Cena's office tomorrow in front of the whole class. I will let him give me a punishment, please. I will practically beg him for some sort of punishment... anything non-sexual of course."

The look Roman gave Dean was of pure disgust which a quick shake of the head did not fix. Instead he scoffed, "I already made up my mind Dean." He heard a quick, quiet sigh right behind, then the footsteps stopped. The boy had finally resigned by the time Reigns reached the door that went out to the front of the building. He opened it, glancing behind him, checking if the boy was still there. The spot was empty as expected, the whole place was. Dean had walked off, probably flipping him off in the process, muttering every curse in the book under his breath. Roman could picture him already, not like that was rare in any way. He'd actually expected more whining from Dean, looked forward to it.

And he couldn't do much. With a stupidly wide grin and a shrug, the man walked out of school knowing damn well from now on his lunch would be anything but bland.


	5. Chapter 5

"Goddamn it. Why do I have to deal with the bullshit." Dean annoyingly muttered to himself walking amidst the crowd of chatter. His head was down but didn't mind shoving whoever dared step in his way, "Fuck this shit."

It was lunchtime and so there was quite a lot going on in the halls. Voices faded into other voices. A sea of hungry students made rapid waves, the scent of puberty lingering strongly in the air.

He tried pacing right along with the crowd, their lingo and commotion making it nearly impossible for him to do even that. He hated rush hour in school and would be happily ditching if it weren't for that stupid class he had to take right at lunch.

Calculus tutoring.

It was a joke to him. All of it. The fact that he was being forced to go just because he didn't choose to kiss ass and was straightforward was really just laughable. Not only did this place limit every single soul that was a part of it, but now it punished for being real. That was just the tip of the iceberg, absolutely ridiculous; and he, as always, was the target of it all. Peachy fucking keen.

He was fuming, walking towards his destination presented a task. The one place he already despised more than anything despite never walking into it. He already knew it would be absolutely horrid. All because of Mr. Roman Reigns. Why the man was always up his ass annoying him, he didn't know. Whether his intentions were good or not though didn't matter. All he was getting out of the constant smothering was the opportunity to potentially get his luminous white teeth punched deep into his face, and the intentions were not far. Dean was really just considering getting into it with the man, let him know there was no game to be played. He sensed, however, that would somehow be absolutely useless, that Roman would just laugh it off and insist even more. The man was not someone who gave up easily, making him almost as stubborn as Ambrose, if not his equal.

The young boy took a quick stop to place his backpack into his locker right outside Reigns' class. From the corner of his eye he spotted Barrett walking over to him but tried not to be seen, failing in the attempt.

He absolutely did not need questioning, specially from Wade. No, his dealer could not know he was taking tutoring. That was like the ultimate geek thing to do and Dean Ambrose was anything but a geek. He would take this little secret to the grave if need be. There was a reputation to keep and he knew Wade would damn sure stop selling to someone who complained about school, but gave in and went to tutoring.

The older boy approached him and Ambrose did his best to appear cool and carefree, the usual norm. There had to be no sign of anything going on with him, things had to be drawn perfectly fine. He closed and leaned against the locker door, calling out Barrett who was still a few steps short, "How ya doing Wade?"

"Everything alright mate, the usual." He let go of a chuckle and sarcastically remarked, "I love it here."

Ambrose grinned and scoffed, "You know it."

"So you coming to hang out outside lad? Or is today ditching day."

Dean looked around the place, "Yea, um, actually yes. Yea me and, um, Solomon might leave to get high somewhere. You know, with Luke... the usual." He tried hard to make his tone realistic but the more attempts made, the less it came out how he wanted it to. He only hoped Barrett would somehow buy it, afraid he might be more experienced in dealing with bullshitters than initially thought.

The English boy gave him a pat on the back and chuckled, "Sounds sweet, lad. See you later then alright."

"After school? Yea for sure man, for sure." He nodded relieved, slowly letting out all the air his lungs had contained.

With that reassurance, the English native walked away amongst the crowd of hungry students. Dean had to look over twice making sure he wasn't spotted going into the classroom.

As soon as he set the first step into that space, the atmosphere completely changed. His eyes were to the floor but could sense the presence in the tight, compressed room; he could damn well feel it like the hot sun against his skin mid-July. He looked up and there was Seth Rollins staring right back at him, eyes a mixture of curiosity laced with shock and confusion, the perfect recipe for his distress, exactly what Ambrose was looking for. Just like their usual routine, Seth had failed to disappoint. Oh how easy he was. Dean might even have to start looking for a new, much trickier target.

The rowdy teen smirked to himself lightly before making his way to the seat farthest from the front where he could see every corner, every inch of the place. He sensed Rollins' round eyes still on him even while plopping down, body fully turned towards where he was, "What the fuck you looking at nerd express? Can I help you with something?" His tone was anything but playful, a harsh remark.

The younger teen quickly took his gaze away, turning forward. He could feel Ambrose's eyes still drilling on him despite choosing to leave the boy alone. He was absolutely upset at this turn of events. What he'd expected to be something fun and releasing had just become his own personal hell, all in just a matter of minutes. He would definitely have to speak with Roman, bring this issue up to him, ask him what the hell Dean Ambrose out of all people was doing there. Was it some form of punishment from the teacher towards that disrespectful shame of a being? Most likely. Why, however, did he have to pay for whatever Ambrose had said or done? Why did this existing problem have to become his? Why couldn't things just be different for once? It was all so unfair to him.

All of a sudden the room was no longer soaking in quiet. A mixture of "duns" and other instrument-like noises filled the air, all coming out of Dean's mouth in beat. Seth dared a tiny look back and caught a brief glimpse of Ambrose playing air guitar, foot comfortably on top of the desk as if he was sitting in his living room and a focused, half-dazed look. He seemed to be having the time of his life. Lucky him, thought Seth, because that was something far from his mind at the moment, fun. He knew he should've never accepted tutoring as an option, not only was it too risky, but he would now have to deal with the personification of annoying.

Somewhere in the middle the 80's song extravaganza courtesy of Dean Ambrose, the door opened and Roman walked in. He granted both guys a warm smile before setting a tray of lunch on the desk. He was not accompanied by anyone else which meant it was probably only him and Ambrose that were going to be assisting tutoring. Why out of everyone eligible to be there it had to be Dean, the young boy didn't know, but by heavens he would find out the exact reason behind this mistake. There was no one on that planet he needed to see less than Ambrose. His eyes hurt at the mere sight.

"Sorry I kept you waiting guys." The man spoke all while trying to place his things in an organized manner on top of the wide desk, doing so with the grace and elegance only he brought. His eyes found Seth and continued on, "Lunch lines are horrible."

Despite trying to keep his disappointment evident by staying quiet, Seth interrupted briefly, "I thought teachers got lunch right away."

Reigns scoffed, "Not when you got someone like Big Show cutting in front of you."

"Big Show?"

"Mr. Wight." To their surprise Dean was the one to speak, his air guitar minutes now gone.

"Exactly." Roman nodded briefly, gaze fixed on Dean, pleasantly surprised. He was glad to see no windows were broken and his classroom was physically in-tact. Seth hated the idea of the other boy being there, that he already knew. It wasn't like he'd given Dean tutoring on purpose just to piss him off; on the contrary, he wanted them closer to see if maybe, just maybe, they would start getting along. He wanted Dean to get to know how noble Seth was and, well, the other way around. He saw something in Dean, a potential that no one else was exposed to. A side not even he'd seen yet, but had just gotten a mere glimpse of. And what a sight it was. He wanted Seth to be able to see that too, give the kid a chance to surprise him; although he knew in a deep corner of his own mind, one he didn't listen to very often, he too wanted to witness more of Dean Ambrose himself, see it all. It was not something he was about to admit, however, but what an interesting creature that boy was. He put up a wall of pure steel but there was no denying, Roman was intrigued already and would do anything he could to break it down, "Glad to see you both made it."

All the brunette teen did was raise his eyebrows briefly, expression showing no interest, nothing short of boredom. Seth made no other comments, opting to just grant a forced, half-assed smile, clearly bothered by the fact that there was someone else with them in the room, that one specific someone just happening to be one he did not like. It was pretty damn obvious that had not been what he'd come to expect and was less than thrilled. He kept his chocolate brown eyes glued forward, hands crossed in front of him while the tension oozed out, clinging to the air, filling it up like a hot-air balloon.

Roman made it his duty to relieve all that tension before it became too much. He walked over in front of his desk, cup of fruit in hand which he proceeded to open as he spoke, "Well then, if you guys need any help with something... Seth I know you had a couple questions regarding the quiz." The boy nodded briefly glancing over his paper in front of him, he'd definitely showed up prepared.

Ambrose on his part had brought absolutely nothing, clearly an act to defy Roman, something he quite enjoyed doing at this point, "So, Roman." He quickly corrected himself and cleared his throat, obviously mocking, "Oh, um, excuse me... Mr. Reigns?"

The handsome teacher looked up from Rollins' paper, knowing damn well the kid most likely was not about to talk about calculus, "Yes Dean."

He placed his foot down, shifting his body closer to where his abdomen was touching the edge of the table, tone as casual as could be, "Are we the only ones coming to tutoring, sir?"

"Yes. You are." With that, the teacher went back to helping Seth.

"Oh." That one word triggered a certain amount of attention from both guys. Attention neither wanted to give Dean right now for different reasons. Seth did not want to even think about the disrespectful boy. Roman on his end, did not want any unnecessary comments. Comments just like the one that came next, "So do you have like a crush on us or something? I mean, do you like us?" The little shit then smirked just as Roman stared right at him, no amusement shown, "I mean, why else would it be just the 2 of us right-"

"Dean, shut up." That was the first time he'd taken a more hard approach with any of his students and it only elicited a satisfactory smile from Ambrose's face, nothing short of pure victory at ticking off the man.

"I'm just saying-"

"Dean. I said shut it."

"But-"

"Just shut up for once, please. Quit being a douchebag for just a few minutes while we're here. Is that too much to ask?" At this point Roman was clearly more than a little annoyed at the boy, going as far as to wanting to kick him out but refraining hard. He could not and would not give him yet another little satisfaction; letting him affect his reaction had already been more than enough.

Seth's eyes widened at the sudden change in things but he wasn't surprised. Dean was on another level when it came to getting under people's skin, picking and picking at the sensitive flesh. Although he'd thought if anyone would finally be immune to it, it would be Roman he was probably wrong. Even someone as composed and mature as Reigns could fall for it. The man quickly regained his cool though, so that was a change; seemed Dean wouldn't win as easy, but victory was inevitable, it was only a matter of time.

With those last direct words, Roman and Seth got working on the teen's quiz and the questions he had. Ambrose started doodling on his arm, the usual all while shutting everyone out. It was just something he couldn't help. Anything involving drawing or wrestling made him care even less about the world. There was just something so relaxing about picking at his skin, making it into any one design he wanted, black ink to pale, soft surface.

He was in the middle of drawing himself in Bret Hart gear when he heard chuckles a few rows ahead. It would've been an absolute lie if he so shamelessly mentioned he'd not come to expect this one sight. Seth was now over at Roman's desk. He'd dragged a chair over and was a bit too close to Reigns. The teacher had finished his lunch and was apparently telling a pretty funny tale seeing Rollins couldn't contain his giggles. Both were going about as carefree as could be, a clear drive away from the usual demeanor. More than that initial lie, however, would be saying he didn't see it. Of course. How could he be so blind? The way Seth eyed Roman, the same exquisite look he got in return. That damn connection floating between them like a damn cloud. Apparent even to the most oblivious of beings. He didn't want to stare but could not keep his stupefied self away. Could not look away from this Rollins, a side he'd known absolutely nothing about.

Who knew the kid could laugh?

"You 2 seem to be pretty damn close." The sudden vulnerability felt was rapidly replaced by the usual, shit-eating grin and chuckle, "Didn't think you could get closer to anyone other than your parents Seth but... I guess I was wrong. This damn well takes the whole cake."

Roman immediately spoke, not taking anymore of it, "Dean I told you-"

"You know what Reigns you don't like it you can very well kick me out because this is all me, alright. I told you I don't want to be here but you're the one wanting me here so-"

The man's tone was little by little losing all its cool, "Yes, and with damn good reason."

"I got the same exact grade Mr. Goody Bar over here got!" Dean was also not having any of it, his temper fully released. He was still more than bothered by the privileges he was not being granted, the same privileges Roman gave Seth without question. He could not let that shit go, it was more than a grudge at this point, "What makes me any less huh? Because I don't fucking giggle at your pathetic joke attempts? Or is it because I am not rich, far from it actually, and my daddy doesn't own half the fucking town?! Which is it?! If you think I lose sleep over a damn 'C' like HE does then you have no idea how wrong you are." He'd tried to be reasonable, get out of it the right way, the calm way. It had not worked out and he was quite frankly getting sick of that damn place. He was already done with Roman.

Reigns' voice was taken up a small notch, frightening Seth at how much deeper it was, "Well then you might want to worry about it because it's not good enough-"

"And what IS good enough then, eh? Making it to Harvard like this kid?" He pointed at Rollins, "Because if you think I want that then I don't know what to tell you. Not everyone strives to be something they are not just because pops tells them to." He paused a little, Roman fuming by that point, "Why do you care so much then, huh? Why do you always have to worry so fucking much about me anyway, it's obvious I don't give a shit."

"Because you should want better! You should reach for better and not conform to everything that is thrown at you, building up a damn wall whenever you don't want to deal with it. Blocking people like Seth out, being rude to them just because you think the moment you change your ways in front of them you are made to look weak. Which is fucking bullshit being I can see right through you!"

Seth just closed his eyes. At this point he honestly did not know what would come out of their mouths, something plain hurtful being on the brink of possibility. He dared a look over at the brunette, who'd yet to give his side of the on-going argument.

Ambrose simply did not speak. The room went absolutely quiet, making it one of the first few occasions he'd been left this way. Keeping quiet in the past was either done to refrain himself, which was a pretty fucking hard thing to do, or he became bored with the topic of argument. This time... he just didn't know what to say.

Roman sighed, realizing what he'd just said, attempting to ineffectively cool things off, "You deserve better Dean. Both of you do." He looked over to Seth who was still on his spot, glued to his chair. Reigns looked at him desperately, scanning for any trace of approval. He wanted a reason, something to justify what had just come out of his mouth, "And you can do better, I know you can. Which is why I push you, which is why I ca-"

In that moment the sharp, dry sound of the bell interrupted their little banter. Roman looked down to his desk, not once glancing up as heavy footsteps made their way out of his classroom. When he lifted his gaze the desk was quiet. Quiet and positively empty.

Seth, however, remained by his side, hopeful smile adorning the teen's already good-looking features. The teacher sighed, now exhausted, "Guess I took it a little too far, huh?"

To his surprise, the boy chuckled quietly, "Not really. If anyone needs to hear those things, it's him."

He shook his head, "I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't and I did and- it's just..." There was a heavy sigh as his hands rubbed his bearded face, "sometimes- sometimes I can't control what comes out of my mouth and it pisses me the hell off." He struck a fist against the desk quite loudly, startling Seth who tried as much as possible to maintain his hard-earned calm. Understatement of the year would be to say he'd been expecting that for their first day. Seeing Roman that way... was shocking, but Dean had to have seen that coming, "I'm sorry Seth. I am really sorry you had to see that."

In midst of all his guilt, Roman looked over to him, their eyes locking strongly for what felt like a lifetime. The young boy had just witnessed so many distinct emotions course through the man. He'd seen him try to regain his cool and failing altogether. Control followed annoyance and annoyance was replaced with anger, all those rapidly shut down by guilt. Pure, raw guilt; something told him Roman did not let things go with ease, if ever.

"Roman..." Awaken in him was an action he'd not expected yet to come out. The obligation to protect this perfectly tormented human being not mattering what it took, suddenly rose. He didn't know Roman Reigns' story, but he'd spotted a pretty honest idea swimming in the gray, conflicted ocean that were his eyes. As honestly gentle as he could, the boy placed one hand on his teacher's cheek, mimicking what the man had done before, this time just a little more gentle, much too bold. A whisper took form, soothing everything in its path, "don't worry about it. Don't worry about me. I will never think you are wrong, no matter what you do okay." There was a pause, that same connection lingering in the air, hovering over them just enough to be noticed again, "And Roman... as my teacher... or a friend..." He was having a really hard time letting out what he truly wanted to say, trembling lightly, fully tempted to play it safe as he'd done so many times before, his whole life. He encouraged only by the large hand placed on top of his, motioning with the gentle touch for him to go forward, that it was okay, sending tiny shock waves through his veins, "You can always, always count on me. I will always be here. I mean it. That's something that you can be sure of."

Their eyes not once losing each other. The intention as clear as ever. Roman felt it and didn't know what to do or feel. The vibe Seth was emitting being something so foreign coming from the young boy. It was weird but expected. He retracted a bit and Rollins immediately took the signal, there was no need making this simple action something it was not. That was a big step best kept avoided.

"So, uh, guess I will see you tomorrow then." With that and a cheeky smile, he stood up, walking over to arrange his things. Roman on his part, was not able to emit much movement, this little tutoring session bringing that out in everybody.

"Seth?" Just as the boy was a step away from being out of the room, he called out, shallow, ocean-deep gray eyes fixated once again on him, "Thank you."

The words were brief, simple, yet they held so much power over Seth. After a quick nod, he had to walk out before going back to shamelessly smooch the guilt out of Roman.

* * *

 _Oh boy, what are we gonna do with Roman and Dean and their arguing?_ _Hopefully you all enjoyed!_


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a week.

One week and one day.

Dean had not shown up to tutoring once.

What a way to have started it all. What a damn way to get to know each other. Roman had gotten a pretty good idea of what he was getting himself into before even walking into that room for the first time. He knew what to expect from Dean, why was he surprised? Of course Dean was going to act out, that was just his nature, his way. He just hadn't expected the outburst to come at him this quickly.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad. He tried not to think about it whenever he sat in class; he tried keeping himself busy but that same little stinging sensation kept pinching at his brain. A small but consistent feeling tugged at the muscle, blurred his thoughts in the process and Roman knew damn well what it was.

Guilt.

His dear friend guilt. His one loyal companion.

Yes. He regretted what he'd said, a lot. He had tried to physically speak to the boy a couple times as the week went by, his mind urging him a couple dozen more a day. It wasn't like he could tell Ambrose to walk with him or meet him outside the class or even request he stay after. Not only would that be met with curiosity from other students, there was something else. Of course Dean would refuse. He'd hit a nerve on the boy's ego and that would not get him on the good side of things anytime soon. If he asked him in the middle of class and Dean refused, he would have no choice but to send him down to the principal's office and he didn't want that, he didn't want the boy to get into more trouble. He would just have to be patient and wait until things cooled down, if they ever did.

In the meantime, his friend would remain by his side.

His thoughts dissipated into thick smoke at the sound of the wooden classroom door opening.

Seth walked in carrying a lunch bag in hand and a huge green backpack on his back, nearly breaking the small teen in half.

Reigns smiled at the boy, a slight grin and red hot flush meeting him halfway. The older man chuckled to himself, that seemed to be Seth's skin tone each time he saw him, "Hey there Seth."

"Hi- ow. Sorry." The young boy took the heavy bag off and sat down.

Roman's expression did not leave concern behind, "Geez Seth, in a couple more years your back will not be happy with you."

The teen chuckled lightly and nodded, "Yea I know." He rubbed at his back, "That's education."

"That's dedication." The man stood up to stretch a little, damn chair had held him hostage long enough. He walked over to Seth, his large, strong arm resting on the corner of the teen's desk, making him seem so small, so vulnerable, "It doesn't have to be that way, you know that right? You don't have to bring a huge bag to school if it's hurting your back. School shouldn't be a pain."

"Oh but it's not. Really- I..." The hot, red color never once leaving the smooth surface of his skin, "I enjoy carrying this. It's no pain."

"Are you sure?" Roman's brow furrowed, "I would hate to hear you hit the nurse's office." The teacher was half joking at this point and the teen was quick to catch on, a tiny smile creeping up, altering his already cute features, "I would hate to have to carry you out of here because your spine cracked or something messed up like that. Well... I mean- not that I really mind carrying you. You probably don't even weigh all that much."

Seth let out a quick, embarrassed chuckle, "Maybe 160, I don't know."

"Nah." Roman shook his head fast, "You're not too tall yet. I would say..." He gave his answer a few more seconds of thought, briefly looking up at the ceiling then back at the boy, his cool gray stare gluing the youngster to his seat. It was established at this point, even in the most casual of conversations Roman still made his body into stone, "maybe 140, maybe."

"Really?" The mention of his small size swiftly brought back memories. Things he'd rather keep hidden in the deepest corners of his brain. Despite his greatest efforts to keep them back, they kept returning like vivid images in intense color. Bright enough to fog the mind.

Bullying was something every school had long and dragged out presentations on, sometimes even bringing out D-list celebrities and motivational speakers to address. These people, who'd most likely never gone through bullying themselves, emphasized over and over again, like a tired, old, scratched record ready to screw up the player, the fact that such behavior, exhibited by the perpetrators, was not good and had to stop asap.

Seth knew this. Unfortunately, bullying had not been a stranger to him. It had greeted him long ago, as soon as he'd given his first step towards that first grade classroom. That school. A place that would become his own personal psychological torment for the next 5 years. It had introduced itself in the form of a slap to the back of his head, a mocking laugh following. He was six.

"Seth?" He felt a slight shake, a slight pressure on his left shoulder, "Seth?" He looked up at the sense that someone was watching him. In the vanishing fog that had clogged his mind just seconds before he spotted those familiar eyes, that familiar scent hanging in the air and the touch also felt familiar. Roman. The young professor was regarding him intently, concern clearly etched on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Huh-" The boy shook his head, shaking the remaining cloud of thin smoke away, "Oh- yea I'm fine. Sorry." He made motions with his hands as if slapping a fly away, "Just a brief blackout, that's it." A relieved chuckle followed. He was glad not to be swimming in unpleasant thoughts anymore, at least for now. He knew they had the power to drown him if they wanted to.

His reassurance did not seem to convince Roman much who only worried more at the unusual shift in behavior, "Are you sure? I- it was so sudden I didn't expect it and almost did not know what to do. Do you have these blackouts often?"

His answer came out fast and simple, "Oh, yea they do. They happen all the time. I just stare out at nothing people think I'm crazy, but I can't help it they just come back. But they- they aren't bad or anything." He lied, they were terrifying, "Harmless." Another lie, followed by a chuckle to make it seem more convincing. He was surprisingly capable of lying today, rare occurrence. He was biting his tongue hard, hoping the man wouldn't catch on to anything.

"Good." The young boy let out an internal sigh of pure relief. Roman didn't need to know how nasty and terrible his thoughts could become, how truly scary some of the contents in his brain were. The man simply let go of his desk and stood straight, his intimidating height and build forcing Seth to look down at his papers. It was so hard to even remember terrible things existed when there was such an incredibly good-looking creature right in front of him, "I want to go over a problem with you today, if you don't mind." He walked over to his board as he spoke, "Something that has been picking at my brain for a while now but I can't seem to solve, or-" He began erasing the previous writing on the board, "well, I solved it but- I don't know I just don't think this was the most efficient way to do so." He looked over his shoulder at the small boy sitting on the desk and chuckled, "I wanted your opinion maybe you can help me figure this out. I know how smart you are."

"Of course." Okay that had sounded a little too eager but what could he do? He was Seth Rollins for god's sake, the world's most awkward teenager.

* * *

20 minutes later, there was no other writing on the board aside from the equation Reigns had jotted down in red marker. There were only 10 minutes left of lunch, of tutoring, and the laughter could be heard in the room. Nothing else but the voices of two individuals was circulating.

Both Seth and Roman were now sitting in two desks at the back of the room, closest to the window; the place only problematic and disinterested students sat down at, not a desk fit for a teacher, or much less, for a straight A student.

That place was awfully unfamiliar, but it all somehow felt so welcoming to Seth. He took in the cause of his new feelings, the sight in front of him, and it seemed as though he was meant to be there. Roman's soft, caramel toned skin was now caressed by the sun just outside the window. Suddenly the world seemed so gentle the moment his chocolate brown eyes gained a look at the black ink peeking out from the man's subtle, yellow buttoned down dress shirt and Seth knew he wanted to see more, that a peek was not enough, a peek was too incredibly unjust.

He was aware the man had a tattoo, and pretty big in size and design as well judging from the rare peeks he got of it in class, those rare looks that only left him wanting to see more of the intricate ink.

"How are you doing in all your other classes?"

"Good. Great actually I guess."

"You don't sound too sure."

"I could always do better."

And they just left that there, Roman instead opting for another question after a brief silence.

"How about your parents?"

There was a little, nervous chuckle from Seth, "What about them?"

"How is your relationship with them?"

"Goo-"

"I don't mean to sound, you know, nosy or anything I just- I guess since the actual math portion of this session pretty much went to hell, I guess- I thought I could ask I'm-"

"Oh. No no no don't worry I don't mind." The teen smiled and shook his head. Only after opting for an overly joyful tone did he speak, "I don't mind talking about my parents or life at home. I love my parents, I very much appreciate life at home. They have given a lot for me and made many sacrifices for my well-being. I am grateful and lucky to have them."

"Great. That's great to hear Seth really."

"Yea, I am a very lucky boy." He paused briefly, looking for the right words, "But- but what about you I mean-" His hand gestures, obvious signs of the timid boy's lack of words, were something Roman found oddly cute, near adorable, "I don't want to BE nosy or anything. You can answer if you want you don't have to-"

"Seth." The man shook his head, a chuckle complementing the movement, "I thought we'd agreed on 'as casual as casual could get'. You can ask me anything don't worry." They both smiled before he continued, "Uh, well where do I start?" He rubbed at his chin, fingers moving softly against its rough texture, "Taught briefly at another school. I recently moved here, hasn't even been a year, roughly a couple months-"

"From where- oh, sorry."

Roman snickered, "No worries." He noticed the teen's posture had taken a more attentive approach. His body was now leaning forward, as much as the desk in front of him allowed, and his big brown eyes were barely registering a blink. He was really interested in what Reigns had yet to say apparently. It all nearly distracted him. He found Rollins awfully innocent, that same pure innocence made him impossibly delightful, "Florida."

"Oh." Brown eyes widened in awe and the older individual had to try hard not to sigh at how incredibly unaware the young boy was.

"Yea." Smiling relaxed and unexpectedly, Reigns leaned back fully onto his chair and stretched out his arms comfortably.

"What about your family?"

And just like that he felt his body jolt him forward, that same relaxed demeanor wiped out, "Oh- they are good I guess." He moved around uncomfortably in his chair and the boy sensed this. He might've been young and fairly inexperienced in a lot of aspects but he wasn't stupid, family was a subject that apparently really made his teacher uncomfortable, "We actually don't talk much."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He placed a hand on his own shoulder, expression dropping. He'd never meant to bring up anything upsetting to Roman.

"No, I'm sorry Seth. I shouldn't have reacted so weirdly. You didn't know." Reigns gave him a reassuring smile and once again leaned back onto his chair, completely ignoring his own pulsing heartbeat, "I just don't really have a lot of time to really talk to them and neither do they."

"I understand." The boy offered him a nod, "My mom went a whole 6 years without talking to her brother Shane- my uncle. They weren't fighting or anything... I think, but once they spoke again it was as if nothing had happened. That always happens, it's the way family is."

Right.

He scoffed and unconsciously eyed the white window pane, not really giving second thought to the absent tone his voice had taken, "Family."

"I know I might seem so clueless and innocent and whatnot, perhaps I am." In what moment he'd chosen to get a little too comfortable in this conversation he did not know. Something about the way Roman spoke to him, the way he treated him, as someone... an actual person who was mature enough to hold up a conversation and not just some kid. That fact, coupled with his desire to be something more to the teacher, a friend to him, was enough motivation to spill out what came next, "I might be just a kid and very young, but I am someone- I want to be someone you can tell anything to." He rubbed at the back of his neck, "I guess my point is, you can talk to me whenever you want and I- I will listen." He chuckled nervously, unsure how the man would react, "I am a better listener than I people think. And you don't ever have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable addressing- or- or I mean when you are ready you can. I will listen."

All Roman could do was stare. He felt the form of a smile and slight nod make their respective appearances. He'd been left speechless yet again by another student and he hadn't been a teacher long enough.

Seth was too mature for his age, a grown up in the body of a teenager, the fact nearly took his breath away. How had he failed to see how incredible this kid was? Sure, he was supremely smart and mature, all those qualities being every teacher's dream; but there was something else to him, an emotional quality many people lacked, something crowds seemed to forget about.

Sincerity.

He was honest, an open book with vibrant, inviting pages. Something so pure, so incredibly clear and innocent, something yet to be written on.

The complete opposite of himself.

He suddenly felt a new appreciation for the young boy. An appreciation that came in the form of a hug.

Next thing they both knew, they were embracing in the back of the class a minute before the bell was to ring.

 **RING**

And there it was. That metallic shriek was what it'd taken to get them to separate, their discovered bond fresh and new.

Seth was the one to speak, "I will see you Monday then Mr- um Roman?"

"Yes you will Seth." He walked over to his desk and sat down, watching the young boy put the unused materials back in that oversized bag of his, "I am glad you are catching on to this first name thing."

"Me too." He grinned big. An honest feeling of assurance at this mutual link they were now building.

A brief moment of comfortable silence followed, only to be broken by approaching chatter and the sound of footsteps just outside.

"Bye Seth." Reigns waved after walking the teen to the hall, trying to be seen as casual as possible in the crowd of teenagers, "Don't push yourself too hard."

"Goodbye Roman." With that he walked off.

A sigh made its way out of his lips. Roman once again sat behind that big, authoritative desk and after a moment of incredibly lonely silence, the teacher opened the bottom drawer. The piece of wood shrieked at its own weight but would open after little pull. Underneath the piles of folders and typical office supplies, buried under the items that had become part of his new life, he found it. It was almost an uncertainty he ever would given how many contents he kept in there, most of them on purpose. It was as if the small, deep red square would somehow escape to haunt him or worse... kill him.

A picture frame.

He leaned back onto his chair and eyed the object of this current melancholy. In the natural light a figure took shape behind the thin glass. He made out everything and memories came rushing back at him with great force. God he hadn't seen the picture in a while, he'd now forgotten how long.

Despite this, she seemed exactly as he had carefully imagined in those rare occasions he chose to reminisce. From the curve of her small shoulders to the long, light brown strands of hair that cascaded down her back in thick curls.

Yea his imagination had not fooled him. She was a replica of the images provided to him by his brain. She was the same. That same person he'd once loved deeply.

The same person he'd once called his fiancee.


	7. Chapter 7

_"I'm hungry!"_

 _A familiar voice called out from outside his room, disturbing whatever little sleep he'd managed to get._

 _"Lianne! I am hungry goddamn it!"_

 _Small, rushed footsteps followed, old wood creaking under them._

 _"What do you want for breakfast?"_

 _A man. Light southern accent, raspy voice. His tone was angry and he appeared to be banging on something, the table maybe, fists thumping loudly against the wooden surface._

 _"You should've been up more than an hour ago cooking for me! For fucks sakes, can't a man get food on time in this shithole?" His calloused hands landed in tune with the words, "I've been sitting here for motherfucking twenty minutes and_ you _still couldn't get your lazy ass out of bed!"_

 _"I'm sorry- I overslept-"_

 _"Fucking obvious! I am starving here and this no good, lazy woman can't even get a stove started! The most simple fucking thing in the universe you know that Lianne! You know that right?"_

 _More wood creaking. The boy getting out of bed at the first sound of a smack, rushing out to the kitchen._

 _"Let go of me please Johnny. You're hurting-" Her voice was pleading._

 _"Oh but you love it when I treat you this way don't ya? Stupid fucking whore."_

 _"John please! Ow ow ow!"_

 _He sprinted, nearly tripping over his own two feet. The scene his gaze followed being one he'd seen too many times before._

 _A man._

 _A woman._

 _Both too damn familiar._

 _His mother._

 _Unfortunately, his father._

 _They were fighting again for probably the thousandth time, or at least it felt like a thousand to him. Both leaning on the sink, their backs to him. He had his hands on the back of her head, fingers tangled on her unruly light brown hair; the boy catching a glimpse of her reddened cheek._

 _"Good morning. Things are starting out already today I see." He walked over to the fridge as the words came out, quickly filling the small, tight space._

 _The man looked back at the figure walking past him, "What the fuck you doing up this early?"_

 _"Early." The teen scoffed._

 _"What's so fucking funny eh kid?" Johnny let go of the woman who immediately grabbed at her neck, massaging the sore spot. He walked over to the fridge, each step more taunting than the last, each word slow and deliberate, "Am I... fucking... funny... to you?"_

 _"No, of course not. On the contrary I think you are delightful." He rolled his eyes, lucky the man could not see his expression._

 _His son's sarcasm was, however, not lost on him, "Fucking lie." At this point, the much stronger individual was right behind him, eyes meeting the back of his shaggy hair, "Don't use no damn big words on me."_

 _He could feel the alcohol-infused breath right on the nape of his neck, making him shudder a little, careful enough not to be noticed by his father, "You wanna know what I think?"_

 _"Surprise me junior." Even as he could not be seen, the boy sensed his father's smile eerily forming, flashing a line of small, yellow teeth._

 _He turned around to face the mocking male and what came out next was done so in a way that was as nicely said as possible; he wasn't stupid after all, "Truthfully, I think you're a piece of shit."_

 _Johnny's smile did not fade, on the contrary became bigger. He let out a chuckle, the smell of alcohol invading the room, "Now you're talking, Dean."_

 _Dean smirked back and made his way out of the kitchen._

 _His father continued to call out proudly, "You would be my son! Of course you're my son Dean Ambrose!"_

 _Those words made him shudder, shook his very spine._

 _"Son."_

 _John "The Bite" Ambrose, know simply as Johnny. One of the most feared individuals in town and equally despised by his own family, all this being something the man proudly flaunted._

 _Did he want to be the offspring of someone like that? The product of pure hatred?_

 _He made way to his room shaking his head, immediately knowing the answer._

 _"Wake up Max." He sat at the edge of the bed and called out to a small bump underneath the covers, "Max." He shook the small figure and rolled his eyes at the fact that he probably wasn't going to get much out of a simple shake. With a smile, he stood up again and launched himself on top of the bed, careful not to place his whole weight on Max._

 _"Uuuuh." A small, lazy voice called out in protest._

 _"Come on wake up."_

 _"Whyyyyy?"_

 _"Because you have to come on."_

 _"Nooooooo. What is school?"_

 _He caught glimpse of the small arm hanging off the side of the bed. He gently tugged at the extremity, applying a bit more pressure after the tenth pull, "Come on Max, you have school today remember."_

 _"Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'll go tomorrow I swear." The young boy pulled his hand away, tucking it under the covers._

 _"You always say that now come on."_

 _"No."_

 _With that simple answer, all he had left to do was pull the covers, something he knew Max despised._

 _"Hey!"_

 _"I warned you."_

 _"Oh I'm gonna kick your ass Dean!"_

 _The teen did not have enough time to answer when he felt the weight of the boy come on him. Both wrestled a bit before finally setting on the bed, Max dropping onto the hard mattress, Dean pinning him for the count of three._

 _"I win!" He jockingly pranced around whatever amount of space he had, making up little dances in the process._

 _"Whatever." Max rolled his eyes at his brother's ways, frustrated at the loss, "You're a clown."_

 _"Yeah the clown who just BEAT YOU." He continued laughing some more while the child walked over to the bathroom, "Hey don't take too long in there!" To that there was no reply and Dean was now left talking to himself, "I don't wanna be showering last minute."_

 _An hour passed and they both got dressed; Dean in dark blue jeans and a white cotton shirt underneath the black leather jacket he usually wore, a pair of heavy-looking boots near his closet. Max in whatever his older brother had picked out for him._

 _Both made way to the bathroom to ensure Max brushed his teeth and combed the wild mop of hair._

 _"Is dad in a bad mood today?" The child spoke as Dean passed the big plastic comb through the toffee colored locks._

 _"Why do you ask that?"_

 _"Because he's always in a bad mood. Is he mad at us or something?"_

 _The teen scoffed but smiled down at the kid, turning his small body around so he would face him. He went on his knees so they were both now directly in front of each other and spoke as softly as possible, "Max, dad is not mad at you."_

 _"What about you? Is he mad at you?"_

 _Dean couldn't prevent the sigh that now came out of his lips, "He's just a big lemon and is usually hungry but I promise you he is not angry."_

 _"Promise me he will never be angry at me. Promise me please Dean." His voice registered nothing short of concern and Ambrose hated every moment of this already. The fact his own brother had to be reassured his dad would not lash out at him was just infuriating. No child should feel that much fear thinking about their father, their own blood._

 _"I promise on my life Max. I promise you... dad will never get angry at you. I will never, ever let him." He wrapped the kid in a tight hug and kissed the now tamed hair, "I will always protect you Max, never forget how much I love you okay?"_

 _"Alright Dean."_

 _With those last words, the boys walked towards the front door, away from that place, afraid it might suffocate both._

 _"Where the fuck are you going?!" Heavy approaching footsteps were heard and Dean tried to rush them both along as much as he could. Despite his efforts, right before reaching the frame, a figure appeared, blocking their exit, "Where are you going now?"_

 _"School dad. We're going to school." A sudden shiver ran up his spine, cold and persistent at the mention of that one set of letters. He rarely called the man 'dad'. The instance that putrid word did present itself coming out of his mouth being solely when Max was around._

 _The man mockingly replied, "School? What for?"_

 _"Because we have to dad. Now please let us-"_

 _"Maxi... my boy..." He regarded his youngest son, an overly affectionate tone taking place and Dean felt like punching the name right out of his mouth. It was obvious he was being incredibly fake and Max would not know that. The boy was just seven for fucks sake. Seven and easy to manipulate for the better and even more for the worse, "where are you going?"_

 _"Let... us through." Dean had to breathe deeply a couple times to calm down. His father could do whatever to him and mock his mother, that being what she allowed; he would not, however, allow in any circumstance that the same be done to Max._

 _No. Over his dead body._

 _"Max-"_

 _"Let us... the fuck through."_

 _This caught John's attention who immediately turned to his firstborn, "What?"_

 _"I will not say it again. We have to go."_

 _"It's always been better to stay independent-"_

 _"Dad-"_

 _"Over my fucking grave would I allow my sons to go to school and kiss ass."_

 _"Well that's not your choice to make, now move."_

 _A laugh escaped John's lips, "Since when did you grow balls my boy?"_

 _"Forget this." Amidst his dad's constant ridiculing laughter, he managed to get them through._

 _John, however, only called out louder for the whole neighborhood to hear as his two sons walked out, "You are finally growing balls my boy?!"_

 _The unpleasant laughter continued but eventually dissipated as they advanced further away. Who knows how much longer it went on._

 _"Bye Max!" He called out watching as his little brother went into school, the child turning around once to say goodbye, "Be good okay! I love you!"_

 _Nothing had been said on their way there besides that same, constant thought itching at him to go back home and beat every ounce of mockery out of that alcoholic bastard. His bullshit was becoming too much now that Max was older. He was much more aware and they both knew this. He probably did it all on purpose at this point. He was aware Max loved him because, well, that was his dad, a shitty dad but one nonetheless. It was only natural to love him._

 _To Dean, nature had not struck those same emotions. He'd despised the son of a bitch as soon as he'd been old enough to talk, to realize what went on. Introduced to hatred at the age of three._

 _He kicked at the pavement hard, hurting his foot but not minding one bit. Adrenaline coursed through his body, numbing everything in its path; the effects of anger._

 _He stopped in front of a different type of hell and eyed it a little, breath heavy. Students and faculty made their way in and out but all Dean did was zip up his leather jacket and continued walking past with that one recurring thought in his mind. Slight images of Max floating in the vast space of his brain._

 _Johnny's voice then filled the crisp fall air and rang in his ears as he recalled what the man had said just a few moments before. He'd not once eyed the heavy door._

 _School was for the kiss-ass anyway._

* * *

A month had gone by.

It was lunchtime and everyone was making their way out in suffocating crowds.

Roman and Seth were seated close in tutoring. Another one of their conversations taking place.

Reigns throwing his head back in laughter, clearly enjoying the current subject of talk.

Rollins smiling and bushing at his teacher's carefree behavior, something he enjoyed too much.

Ambrose yet again, nowhere to be seen.

It was something that at this point did not surprise anyone. It was a lot more shocking whenever he showed up.

And he did show up. Maybe once or twice every two weeks he would grace the classroom with his rate presence but would hardly talk to anyone. Not Seth, much less Roman. A few mocking jokes he would make directed at the younger teen but that was it. In class he would joke around a bit more.

Reigns still hadn't had the chance to apologize. It'd been a while since that talk but he hadn't forgotten. Sure, Dean was very stubborn and whatnot but that did not give Roman the right to talk to him like he knew his entire life. All the kid needed was understanding and he wanted to bring that for him.

He'd tried bringing the matter to Cena but Randy had been right, Dean was just too much of a favorite and things had not worked out.

After that little encounter in the principal's office it had hit Roman, Dean would just have to come back on his own.

The thought exasperated him. He hated to admit but he was a bit scared the boy would not come around.

He was glad at the sight next to to him though. Rollins had stuck around and tutoring was going better than ever, their bond growing stronger by the day. Any one subject could come up and a near thirty minute conversation would spark of it.

Rollins was also an easy student to work with, always paid attention and was open to any correction. He was truly a dream to any teacher. More than that, however, he was an incredible listener. Yes the boy had remained loyal to his word and would sit minutes without speaking, simply listening to the much older man go on about anything really. Sometimes, something as little as listening to someone could bring more knowledge and satisfaction than the teaching itself.

"Your wife must be proud of you for that one." Roman had just finished telling one of his mischievous bar tales when the remark had come up. The man simply shook his head, "Nope. I am not married actually. She wouldn't be too happy though, if I was."

"Oh." That took Seth by surprise, something the professor quickly caught on to, "Then I mean, um- your girlfriend?"

A chuckle did not pass unnoticed, "Nope. Not even a girlfriend. I am... how do you teens speak nowadays?" He looked up at the white ceiling, a playful banter in his eyes once he'd found the right set of words to play with. The things he'd only heard his students say so many times, "Oh yes. I am single as fuck."

"Wow." Seth whispered, eyes widening in the process not because this was the first time he'd heard the Samoan use that kind of language, but he was genuinely surprised at his answer.

"That shock you?" Roman smiled, waiting for the young boy to come back from his sudden mental escapade.

He shook his head a little, trying to dismiss the clear surprise registered on his face, "Yea- I mean a little. I thought you were married and had children or something like that."

Another chuckle followed, "No- I uh..." The man paused a moment, trying best to ignore the lump now forming on his dry throat, "I am pretty much the most single individual in the world."

"Me too!" Seth exclaimed. Just as fast as the words had come out, he'd absolutely regretted them. What did his teacher care? Of course he didn't.

The boy's sudden response forced a small laugh out of him, "I am uh- shocked to hear that as well actually."

"You're not." Rollins shook his head, "I am the most believable sixteen year old who's single in the world."

"No you're not. I mean- you're good looking and a really nice kid. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone."

That one remark made Seth blush uncontrollably, his skin turning hot. Still he did not know how he'd managed to speak, "Re- really?"

Reigns flashed him a reassuring smile, making the small teen melt in the process, "I'm sure of it."

He didn't know what it had been that'd prompted his next question. Maybe it had been the fact that his extremely attractive teacher found him to be 'good looking' maybe not. Still, what came out next did so with the confidence of winning the lottery, "Would you um- would you do something as- as crazy as date... date a..." He could not finish that thought, confidence shrinking as fast as it had inflated. WHAT WAS HE DOING? This was by far the most risky thing he'd ever done.

"A student?" Roman was the one to wrap up that question. He seemed surprisingly unbothered by it along with the small teen's constant shaking and after a bit of thought answered, "I am a very liberal and accepting person Seth."

"So that's a... yes?" He immediately had to ask in hopes his face was not a shade of purple at this point, hands going numb. What he'd started he might as well finish.

The large man smiled, "I guess... depending on the circumstances- you never know what might happen." Despite his positive answer, he was quick to add, "I mean, I know it is MASSIVELY wrong. Not only is it the age that's incredibly different, maturity levels as well. I also don't wanna go to jail for life."

Whatever he said after that passed completely ignored by the teen. He was now on cloud nine all on his own. Whatever other excuse the man had said, it did not matter and it was official: Roman did not view being with a student an impossibility. It could happen and Seth felt every part of his body tingle and glow in happiness. So much adrenaline coursed through him right then and what occurred next was done so automatically without any thought or judgment. Without any notice.

He leaned in, closed all distance available and planted a kiss on Reigns' lips.

A kiss that seemed to have lasted a good minute; Seth enjoying every moment of it, Roman too shocked to even think.

One that sparked.

One that completely erased any doubt in Seth.

One that clouded every corner of Roman's mind.

"Holy shit."

One that had just been witnessed by Dean Ambrose.

* * *

 _ **Well there it is! Another chapter is in the books and i had one hell of a ride typing this one up. There's no wifi at home right now but i was really anxious to put this up so i had to type everything from my computer on my phone and it was just.. ugh not fun let's just say that.**_

 _ **That being said i hope you all enjoyed this one. Seems like we got a good glimpse of Mr. Ambrose and his ways. Oh! By the way, all of Ambrose family was a product of my imagination. I don't know his real parents' names or how they are as people and don't even think he has a brother so just know it all came out of my imagination.**_

 _ **ALSO WHAT A WAY TO END THIS AMIRITE? Next chapter is still in the works but i will try to make it as cool as possible for you guys.**_

 _ **I am really happy to be back writing this story and as always reviews are welcomed :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

What the fuck was going on?

Had he really seen what he thought he'd seen?

Both Roman and Seth were looking at him, shock registered entirely on their faces.

Confusion was a feeling now shared by the three.

Still, Dean was the one to break the silence that appeared to have gone on for ages, "Wow... I uh... I will leave you two." After a slight, nervous chuckle and a quiet "peace" muttered in-between, the brunette walked out.

"Holy shit." Roman whispered and stormed out as well, nearly tripping on the rows of desks. Seth was the one to stay behind, frozen in fear at the realization of what had just happened.

"Oh my god." With that simple whisper, the young boy placed his face between his hands and could not help the tears now threatening to form.

"Dean!" Roman had to slow down due to various students sitting in the hallway. He didn't care if he looked crazy but he couldn't risk raising any suspicion, not after what'd just happened.

The brunette was only a couple steps away, a little more speed to his walk.

"Dean, please." The older man rushed behind, "Let me talk to you about that assignment you didn't finish." Those last words forced the teen to come to a sudden stop, the fact they could not afford being too scandalous clearly on his mind.

He walked over and leaned against the long wall as casually as was possible, no expression registered on his face, "Where's that assignment, Mr. Reigns?"

He motioned for the Samoan's empty hands, making the man roll his eyes quickly, "We have to talk."

"About that assignment you told me about? Oh. Oh, I get it. Seems that assignment might be back in the classroom though."

The boy's tone was playful enough to where he had no choice but to go along with, "Yea? Yea- I uh, I'll go back to fetch it and you will come with me-"

"No." The brunette quietly, but firmly, replied.

Reigns ignored him and walked closer to the teen, their faces now inches apart; his deep voice being nothing but a whisper, "Dean, what you saw... back there."

"Was exactly what it was."

"It was a clear mistake." At this point, the man was desperate enough to dismiss the little kiss as that but he was not going to deny himself the thought of it later.

"Hey," Ambrose raised his hands in front of him, "you don't have to explain yourself to me man. I don't care what you do with your tutoring time."

"Promise me then..." He paused after noticing a couple students walking by them, only resuming when they were far enough, "promise me this- what just happened... will not leave us."

"Are you saying I should promise not to tell?" The mock in his hurt expression and voice did not go unnoticed by Reigns, "Roman... who do you think I am? I'm no rat-out bitch." His expression turning roughly serious at that last remark.

"Good. I hope you're not." The older man did not know whether to feel any better at the sound of those words, "Please promise me. Say it."

"Hmm." The young student drifted off, smiling to himself as if he'd just had the best idea and Roman knew this could not be good, "Ok. But..."

"But what?" Desperation was laced with the deep tempo of his voice.

"I want out of tutoring."

That same desperation now showing a hint of disappointment in the man's handsome features. He felt a little ashamed at how quickly his expression fell, "Why?"

"Ok then I can't promise anything."

"No no, I mean- I'm just asking. Why Dean?" His head tilted to the side, clearly trying to figure the boy out.

"Isn't it obvious to you at this point?" Ambrose could not believe how fucking oblivious the man was to how he felt about this whole tutoring thing, "I fucking hate it."

Roman scoffed, "Well how can you hate it so much if you don't give it a shot?"

"Oh believe me, I have tried-"

"Well maybe, I don't know, try harder." His gray eyes widened, annoyance not far behind.

"This ain't gonna work out man." Dean's hoarse voice, now a bit louder, registered nothing short of annoyance at his teacher's pleas. It was clear, his mind was made, "I hate it and I want out. So either take me on this deal or..." He stretched his arms, tapping at his sides and shrugged.

"You wouldn't do it."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." The brunette took a step forward, fully closing the small distance already between them. They were both now standing eye to eye, chests a couple millimeters away from touching, "But my mind is made. Deal?" He stepped back once again, stretching out his pale hand in front of them both, "Or no deal?"

"I don't want this." Reigns blurted out. He'd forgotten the last time he'd been okay with pleading. Persistent he was, willing to beg however? It was all set in stone, an offer he truly did not want.

"You don't have a choice."

The young boy had really pinned him against a wall, pressuring him to the point he could not escape it, no matter how much he wanted to. It was difficult to make this decision and Roman was as stubborn as they came, but perhaps it was time to accept that maybe, just maybe, Dean had won this one.

Then suddenly the bell rang, the usual crowd of students prancing along with it, filling up the halls quickly. A sudden feeling of relief rushed through the man's nice features.

Dean noticed this and after careful consideration added, "Tell you what. Why don't you think about it and let me know when you make up your mind."

Reigns, taking a step back nodded, clearly not loving this much commotion, "Yea, I'll let you know what score you got."

"Good." Ambrose flashed the man his usual shit-eating grin, "Just don't make me wait too long professor. I tend to get very impatient."

"Yea of course of course." The teacher had to straighten himself out a bit, the boy sure had him flustered. Flustered to the point he could not make direct contact with him anymore.

And so he walked off before someone caught on to what was really going on, a situation having nothing to do with grades.

"Hey, uh Mr. Reigns?" He heard the raspy sound of Ambrose's voice call-out to him. It happened quick but in a sudden raise of hope he was expecting the teen to take back his offer. He turned and regarded the brunette who had yet moved from his spot, "I already made up my mind." With that statement and a wink, Dean walked off the opposite way, quickly disappearing amongst the mass.

Flashes of one of their encounters outside his classroom quickly showed up in his mind. They were clear and vivid in memory. The time he'd given the rebellious teen tutoring was something that came back to him. Oh how he'd enjoyed that victory, but oh how life had played him for a fool. Now he was the one left fuming.

Now he was where Ambrose had been.

* * *

"DIE DIE DIE!"

"Aw come on!"

"Die you piece of craaaap!"

"Come on come on! We can still win this team come on."

Voices. Layered on top of each other they echoed in the room. Each one different volume, different pitch; each one was distinct, drowned only by the pulsating sound of the television.

"YES!"

"Nooooooo! Aw I hate you."

"We're in the same team how can you hate me?"

"HIDEO! I was gonna get that one! Learn how to be a team player!"

It was a Sunday in Hideo Itami's house. The young teen was accompanied by Adrian, Sami, Seth and their usual setup in his room. A study session turned videogame frenzy, lucky their parents were at the moment not around.

Boxes and boxes of different videogames were laying all over the gray carpet and the curtains were drawn, pitting them in darkness, the only light spot being the young teen's bright, fifty inch plasma.

Sami and Hideo were now immersed in a game of COD. Yelling up a storm and nearly breaking a controller at one point, they had now invested two hours in chasing around bad guys with guns.

"Well maybe if you knew how to AIM properly! We wouldn't be having this problem."

Seth only shook his head at their exchange. It was hilarious seeing them battle it out for control given they were both really different players; Sami taking his time in shooting, being as precise as possible, and Hideo just not giving a damn going on a rampage killing everyone, including members of his own team. He'd now shot Sami's character more than five times and the ginger was stressing out.

"COME ON, AGAIN!? F. Fitzgerald you are done!" Hideo was clearly not taking any of their opponents' offense any longer.

"What kind of name is F. Fitzgerald anyway?" Sami continued as he shot a guy in the head clean with his sniper.

"The name of a douche I am about to MURDER."

Rollins caught sight of Neville rolling his eyes at them. They were both seated on Itami's bed chatting, neither wanting anything to do with COD anymore.

He smiled at his friend's reaction to their banter and understood, it was tiring just looking at them.

"How can they go on for an hour straight without blinking?" The smaller teen asked, drawing his knees to his chest.

"Beats me." His gaze widened, making Neville chuckle in response.

Despite their constant yapping at absolutely nothing, hanging with his friends was a nice change of pace and routine. It had been a stressful week for sure, one the teen had dodged thinking about for as long as he could, a feat that proved harder with time.

The kiss.

Just the thought of his lips locking with Roman's was enough to blur his vision. It had lasted a second; a second that'd been enough to fully make him understand his feelings for his teacher.

He liked him. That he knew for sure. Feelings for the man had begun since the moment they'd first shared a stable conversation. Sure, the physical attraction was clearly there but it had been nothing more than a little crush. Now, however, this was not some little crush. This was... this was more. That small kiss had only proven everything he already knew.

There should've been no problem in their moment. It'd been awkward, sure. Maybe Reigns would feel a bit uncomfortable around him for a while or maybe not. It wasn't something that would kill them. It was just something that was. Something honestly incredible in every sense of the word, no matter how hard both would try to hide it.

Then why was Seth feeling uneasy? Why'd he refrain from thinking about that shared instance until this particular moment? Why leave it behind until he couldn't take it anymore?

His head began to hurt as soon as he realized what the problem was.

Ambrose.

It was obvious. Dean had been the problem all along. He still was.

"Seth?" Neville waved his hands in front of the boy, bringing him back to reality, "Are you alright?"

Upon registering the look of pure concern on the teen, he spoke, "Yea uh- no I'm okay. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Seth shook his head, immediately regretting going further. It wasn't like he didn't trust Neville, he'd just already said too much given the smaller teen's triggered curiosity, "Things. School."

"That new teacher getting in your head already?"

"What?" It wasn't anyone's shock how quickly Seth reacted to that question, his body jolting forward, "Why would you ask that?"

"I mean, just a guess. You weren't like this last year. You told us- you said this year would be equally or even better than the last."

Seth chuckled, a little more nervously than intended; seemed his friend knew him better than he ever thought, "Don't worry about it."

"Mmm." Neville caught onto the signal and left the subject alone.

With that they both settled watching on as Sami and Hideo continued to argue over who was the best. Both boys sat on the comfortable surface of the large bed; Neville still in doubt, Seth planning a way to get rid of Ambrose for good.

* * *

The bell rang.

Its metallic roar reminding everyone school was over. The cheer of the weekend that had seemed so unreachable a few hours before was now in full grasp.

Everyone in eighth period calculus nearly ran towards the door after dropping their assignments off at the teacher's desk. The attractive individual, on his part, let out a yawn and stretched his arms as far back as he could, relishing the pleasant sensation that brought him.

It wasn't like the weekend really excited him. Bar hunting with Randy proved to be a pretty expensive affair and being alone at home was quite frankly not his cup of tea. With little to do and more than enough time, there were times when he would have no choice but to think, that being what his brain opted to do, proving difficult to shut up at times.

The room was nearly empty and as students said their goodbyes and walked off, a familiar figure emerged from one of the seats. A figure that had not been hard to spot given he was seated in front of the class.

Dean walked over to Roman's desk, handing in his assignment which shockingly was completed.

Roman could not help the amount of surprise emanating from him, all of which did not go unnoticed by the teen, "Shocked Roman? I can finish my work too."

Reigns looked on completely dumbfounded. At this point he did not know what shook him the most, Ambrose handing in his work completed or Ambrose now regarding him, actually noticing him.

"No, I am actually pretty impressed Dean. Good job." The older man flashed him a reassuring smile and continued, "But I do have a question."

"And what might that be?" The young boy could not help the sudden amusement that arose upon seeing Dolph Ziggler handing in his paper, clearly enjoying the blonde's flustered look, "That paper didn't kick your ass too much now did it Dolph?"

The conceited student only flashed him an annoyed look quickly masked by a smirk and his usual smooth mannerisms, "Nah. I am fresh as a grapefruit. It's JUST Ziggler by that way."

"I thought the saying went 'fresh as a daisy' Dolph." Reigns added, not knowing if he wanted in on the talk.

Dean's smirk immediately erased any doubt, "Yea. Exactly. No fruits involved." Reigns chuckled at that one, "You of all people should know current lingo."

"Your version is outdated. It isn't current."

"In my mind it is." The teacher added, amusing himself a little too much.

"Jocks." Dean chuckled, "They think they know it all."

The blonde shook his head, clearly frustrated at the teasing, "I am not a jock-"

"Hipsters." Roman shook his head playfully and scoffed, "Only a hipster or a jock would deny being a hipster or a jock."

"Neither." The tanned individual roughly replied, not having any more of their ridicule.

Dean was the one to laugh at this exchange. A carefree, cool sound emanated from his lips, smile incredibly infectious.

He was clearly having fun teasing Ziggler as much as he could and Roman noticed, "Oh yeaaaa. Hipster, that's the word."

"No it is not! Ambrose you piece of-" Dolph stopped mid-sentence upon catching his teacher's expression.

"What Mr. Ziggler? Piece of what?" Roman raised his eyebrows, clearly having fun with the situation.

Dean tilted his head forward, lips parted, curious look on his face; clearly waiting for Ziggler to finish his thought, "Uh- wow Dolph. I never knew you could actually get your head out of your behind and say something interesting for once."

The blonde's baby blue eyes immediately widened as he turned to Roman, "Ah, he just cursed? He just cursed at me."

Roman shrugged, "That wasn't a curse word. And besides," He pointed at the teen who'd not yet taken his eyes off Ziggler, "he's Dean. You know how he is."

"Yea. Yea, yea I'm Dean. You know how I am." The brunette took a step towards Dolph, shit-eating grin in full sight and Reigns was somehow glad he wasn't the only person the teen flashed that to.

Dolph only narrowed his eyes at both individuals and stormed out of the classroom bumping against the door frame in the process, bouncing off lightly. He clearly knew he was never going to win with those two.

Ambrose could not help the instant bursts of laughter popping out of his mouth. He laughed to a point his stomach began to hurt. He laughed carefree and cool.

Roman looked on in awe at the teens quick change in demeanor. This wasn't a wall he was putting up, this wasn't his usual macho man persona. This was something different, something he had no trouble staring at. The person in front of him was someone he'd not yet seen.

It was all Dean.

It was all him now leaning against the large desk and Reigns could not help his cheesy smile as the teen came back from it all.

"Oh my god that was gold. Gold I tell ya!" The boy remarked, rubbing at his eyes, "Think that might've even made me tear up a little holy shit."

"Think he saw it coming?" The larger man leaned himself forward, elbows comfortably resting on the wooden surface, hands caressing his now sore jaw.

"Aw man I hope not." It had proven difficult for Dean to erase his smile, something Roman did not mind one bit, "That would make it all the better."

They recounted the moment a bit more, laughing their butts off. Both guys completely forgetting they were free to go home. This was an extremely rare sight to see. Roman and Dean had tension between them since the moment they'd met, that bit had been obvious. Now, however, they were communicating as if they had known each other their entire lives. Two buddies joking over some playful teasing.

Reigns eyed the teen. He was the one to speak next, not quite wanting this moment to end, playful tone taking on, "I always thought you were fun Dean."

Ambrose took his eyes away from the door and regarded Roman who was still smiling, flashing the boy a line of perfectly straight white teeth. Damn him and his good looks, "Yea? Well seems you need to get out of your job more often."

The young teacher only nodded in response, not quite remembering how he'd felt last time he had a good chuckle. It'd been forever and only now was he realizing how good it felt to just let himself go and have some fun. Sure he had Randy and colleagues, but the tattooed individual and him did not share the same humor and he typically rejected his colleague's requests for an outing. He hadn't thought anyone in this town could bring that out in him again.

Then there was Dean with his cute crooked smile and constant need for playful banter and Reigns had no choice but to follow suit. Yea he was sold.

"So uh, about that offer I made you." The shaggy teen was the one to break his current train of thought. A subject not very wanted by Roman, "What did you decide?"

"You told me you would give me time."

"Yea well I also said I wasn't very patient."

"Its only been a couple days Dean-"

"Hey," The teen held up his hands defensively, an action that seemed to take place whenever he felt the need to explain himself, "I'm not the one with all to lose here."

Roman sighed, placing his head between his hands, massaging the thin, smooth skin, "Why didn't you go to tutoring today anyway? I mean if you want out at least show up on your last days. Pay us the courtesy."

"Courtesy." The small teen scoffed, eyeing the outline of the white board behind his teacher, "I don't owe you anything. And besides... I don't wanna disturb your little lover with my scumbag presence. I don't want you..." He inched closer, placing palms firmly on the desk, "to feel awkward when you're with him."

"Dean." Roman immediately scolded, voice firm and low; their joking just a few moments before quickly forgotten. He made sure to keep eye contact with the boy, "There is nothing going on between me and Seth."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea." His deep sound left no doubt, "And that's all I am going to say on it. It's final."

"So you wouldn't care if uh- I don't know, maybe a page-long letter reached Cena's office about uh... weird activity in Mr. Reigns' classroom at lunchtime?"

Like some sort of miracle, some sort of weird beacon of light and idea came to him. Roman smirked, right away knowing what to do. Maybe the teen's early offer wasn't his only option. Dean Ambrose wanted to play? Fine. They would both play his game, "No."

"Are you sure?"

"One-hundred percent."

Dean's crooked smile made it's return, showing a set of deep dimples piercing at his cheeks, "Cause I mean, Cena might get a little angry at that-"

"Do whatever you want. It's your words against mine-"

"With Cena." The teen smiled even wider, knowing damn well Reigns was probably aware by now of his running friendship with the school's principal.

"With everyone." After that, the much bigger individual stood up, stretching his defined arms comfortably. He walked around the desk over to where the shorter boy stood, stopping only a few inches apart, "With every other teacher AND the people who are much higher on the ladder than Cena. So do whatever you want. I am respected around here believe it or not. Just remember..." He paused for effect, Dean scoffing at this rate, "you are no rat-out bitch." Ambrose's eyes widened for a second, honestly surprised at the shift in the man's usual, composed demeanor, "That was what you told me wasn't it? At least that's what came out of your mouth."

"And it's all true." Dean spoke slowly, his veins pulsating strongly, that familiar rush coming to him.

"Then why try to break that promise?" Roman's voice was a quiet murmur by now, breath hitting Dean, the pleasant smell of cool mint once again making its appearance. The man did something next that brought a realization quick and heavy onto his mind.

He'd never touched Dean.

Not a handshake. Not a pat on the back. Not even a brush of the skin. Neither had ever left room for contact.

Until now.

Until that very moment where time seemed to stand still. Where seconds froze into infinity. Where everything suddenly seemed to have been blurred. The teacher pressed a strong, firm hand on the student's shoulder and immediately felt the burst of current run through him. He'd done that same action time and time again but it had never quite felt this way. So... so pleasant.

He immediately felt the boy flinch under his heavy palm and the action was immediately retracted, the feel of light cotton still on his skin.

Roman did not desire arguing after that. He didn't want the teen to be angry at him anymore. He didn't want them to fight every time they saw each other. He wanted to know Dean. This Dean. Not the one who put up vast walls but the one who could laugh for moments straight at the same things. The one who repeatedly revisited something hilarious and ran with it. The one who people never got to see. The one he was dying to meet.

Then he knew exactly where to start.

"Dean." He was quiet, careful not to make the student any more uncomfortable, "I am sorry."

The teen quickly looked up, his blue eyes welcomed by the warmth and embrace of gray. He'd been avoiding the man's piercing gaze as much as he could; awfully intimidating, those eyes seemed to look right into him, into his very soul, "What for?"

"For what I said in tutoring that one time." The Samoan flashed him an apologetic look.

For fucks sake he looked like a scolded fucking puppy. Why was he apologizing? Dean was extremely unsure about what to do in this current situation. Nobody had ever honestly apologized to him in his entire life, for anything. Whatever shitty 'sorry' he'd heard from his mother, or the same words muttered soaked in alcohol and cigarette smoke by his father didn't matter; he knew they didn't mean it. The man standing before him, however, was someone else. He didn't know Roman's life, but he knew his apology was as real as they got. He felt it.

And it absolutely terrified him.

All this attention put on him only forced his body to freeze, his mind to rush in alert. The only response he knew at the moment was the one said next, one which came out in run-on sentences, each word nearly tripping on the other, "Okay. I will go back to tutoring. On one condition and that is you stay off my ass."

The sudden remark completely took Roman off guard. Had he not heard his apology? Still he could not let any more time pass for second thoughts, his very attractive features now illuminated by a big smile, "Deal."

The teen, without much notice, rushed out of the classroom.

He jogged along the wide space, then he ran. He ran as fast as he could confused as hell, ignoring the sudden weak sensation in his stomach. He felt his mouth go dry, sudden hot flashes run through him quick and heavy. His head spun at light-speed and small sweat beads adorned his forehead.

Without much warning, without much time, he'd only made it to one of the school's toilets when he felt his knees go weak.

And he said goodbye to his lunch.

* * *

 _ **WOAH okay what a weird ending. Only Dean would literally puke at an overly nice Roman. Just know that where i was trying to go here was that since Dean had never experienced any genuine apology in his life, that Roman's made him feel really confused to the point he didn't know what to do. And it made him sick to his stomach apparently.**_

 _ **OK so who knows what might happen. How will Dean handle Roman's unconditionally nice ways towards him? Where will Seth fit in all of this? Will he be able to get rid of Dean for good? Specially given how much Roman feels he can bond with the kid? Will he and Roman give it a shot? WILL DEAN AND SETH EVER GET ALONG?**_

 _ **I now have wifi by the way but thank you for the suggestion ;)**_

 _ **I will be bringing in chapters as consistently as i can. I am loving the concept of this story and had forgotten how much i genuinely enjoyed writing it.**_

 _ **First day of tutoring with Dean back coming right up next chapter!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Wednesday was upon everyone.

The one day of the week that was as ignored and as routine-driven as they came.

It was one of those days that was just there because it was. Bland and stupid, thought Dean, much worse now that he was stuck in tutoring once again. Kind of ironic really, he'd never left yet he was back.

The bell had just invaded everyone's ears with its metallic screech, signal that lunch was upon them.

Lunch.

Something that was supposed to be fun. Nicely taken by the kids with nothing more to do but eat and chat it up. Something Dean now fully despised. If he'd hated it before, now was something he didn't even want to think about. Just the mere thought of sitting in that desk again, become imprisoned by those four walls, compressed without much air or freedom, it all brought out in him unpleasant thoughts. A shiver crawled up his spine and tiny bumps appeared on his pale skin. Goosebumps. They were heavy and noticeable, like tiny needles poking at the flesh, threatening to pierce. They plagued his skin for the first time in years.

He ran his hand repeatedly over them, hoping they would cease.

A heavy sigh ran out of his lips, long and disinterested.

He was the last one to leave class. Everyone, including his teacher, were now out into the hallways looking forward to long lines and tasteless food. At least they could go outside, bathe in the glow of the current rays. The weather was incredibly beautiful that day, a nice change from the usual gloom fall brought upon them. Dean loved the rain, he didn't however, mind a little bit of sun, the pleasant warmth it enveloped his whole body in.

He stood up. Slow and lazy, the boy made way down the corridor, amongst the fading bunch.

* * *

It was lunchtime. Lunchtime and a new opportunity.

At least that was what Roman had thought about all day.

His chance.

He walked over to the large, decorative windows in the back of his classroom. The sun shone faintly through the blinds, bright and warm. The teacher looked back at the room, the artificial lights all on. He opened the large, white covering revealing an incredibly beautiful sight, at least that being what it was to Roman. It was the back of the building, where the teacher parking lots were. Nothing much to see there but the way the sun hit the mountains in the background, the way the newly formed clouds all seemed to be making their way over from far away. It was an incredibly clear day, a welcomed change from all the rain that was bound to them, an announcement of fall.

The man was so lost in the scenery he barely noticed the door closing behind him. Dean had entered the room, backpack on one shoulder, bottle of juice in the other. He made way towards one of the midway desks and sighed quite audibly. Roman regarded him carefully.

He was obviously less than thrilled to be there, apparent by his hunched up shoulders and the way of his walk, slow and heavy. He seemed to be dragging onto the seat as opposed to actually walking to it.

Reigns didn't know if he should've said anything, he honestly didn't care. Judging by the way a smile started to form on his plump lips, he figured a quick hello wouldn't hurt, "Good morning Dean."

The brunette on his part only nodded towards the man, not once bothering to look up at him. He started rummaging through his backpack, looking for anything to distract him from the tension that wasn't there. It was all so normal it made him sick.

That didn't do enough to keep him from noticing the steps inching closer to him, or the light shadow the bright sun now cast on the floor, clear and visible to his eyes.

That for damn sure didn't do enough to keep his body from briefly shuddering at the deliciously deep sound of the man's voice.

"Are you okay?" Asked Roman, clearly concerned. It would have been one thing for the teen to have entered the classroom loud and obnoxious as usual. Now however, he was as quiet as could be. That was rare. It was Dean Ambrose for crying out loud. The boy was never quiet.

"I'm fine." The remark was firm, low even. The young student then locked gaze with his teacher, "Where's your lov- I mean Sethie boy?"

Roman rolled his eyes all while continuing his walk towards his desk. He stopped by the light switch, turning off the lights, room still bright over the natural glow entering from outside, "Don't start Dean." He stopped at his desk to eye some papers when the door opened. Both individuals turned and eyed Seth who quickly sat down in his usual spot. Carrying a lunch tray in hand, his backpack hit with a heavy thud on the floor.

"Ouch…" Dean blurted out and placed his feet over the desk, back resting comfortably on the chair. The tension between both Roman and Seth was incredibly noticeable. He eyed both guys. Neither had said anything to one another, both simply trying their best to ignore the obvious awkwardness pouring into the room.

Seemed they hadn't really addressed their little smooch. The sandy haired boy shook his head in disappointment. He decided it was best to keep out of it, it was not his burden to bear and it wasn't like he gave a damn anyway. He instead opted to take out a sheet from his backpack and do some doodling on the back in stolen pencil.

Minutes passed in silence. All three working on their separate tasks, not one word muttered.

Roman could not take it anymore, this compressed feeling in his chest was going to suffocate him if he didn't take his mind off it, if he didn't find some way to distract himself.

He hadn't talked to Seth at all, not because he hated the kid or anything extreme like that; he just didn't know what to say. Their exchange a few days back was still ingrained deep in his mind. He'd thought about it over and over until he came to the only conclusion he thought possible, Seth was confused.

There was nothing else that could explain what happened. Maybe the boy had a little crush on him but was obviously not thinking straight when he'd done what he had done. Roman held on to that but he knew that it was mostly because he was hoping it wouldn't happen again. It all scared him to death.

Yes, he thought Seth was cute, adorable many times even. That did not mean, however, that he wanted anything serious between them. It was too much risk and a seriously stupid thing to do on his part, he knew better.

And so he walked over to Dean. The boy seemed to be immersed in whatever he was doing so maybe he was working on something. The man honestly did not expect to find him doing anything school-related. His eyes widened suddenly upon realizing he was being proven terribly wrong.

Dean Ambrose was actually working on his math. The boy who pushed people he considered nerds around to their doom was in that moment a few inches away from bumping his forehead against the desk and was writing rapidly, attempting to solve one of the problems on his homework. Hell, he even had scratch paper and an eraser out. A frustrated breath left him when he couldn't seem to come to a clear conclusion for his answer. He began erasing what he'd previously written, annoyance apparent in the action.

Reigns stopped right next to his desk and spoke, "Need any help?"

"Shit." The boy lightly jumped, startled at the man's sudden appearance he'd been too focused to notice.

"I'm sorry did I scare you? I didn't mean it." Reigns smiled lightly, clearly apologetic but contentment too hard to hide. Joy overcame him at the sight of the boy doing something, actually doing something in tutoring. Ambrose shook his head and eyed his paper briefly before returning his gaze, "Do you need help?"

The sigh was a reflex, an action he didn't want to make too obvious, afraid of coming off as desperate. Too desperate to solve a damn equation, "Nah."

"Are you sure?" The larger man raised his eyebrows at the boy, not buying it at all, "I can help you, you know. Seems that equation was giving you a hard time."

"It's the last one I gotta solve. Maybe- maybe it's a little trickier than the rest."

"May I?" He motioned for the sheet on the desk.

After seconds of thought, all Ambrose did was nod lightly and lean back onto his chair, "Have at it."

Careful examination of the problem took about thirty seconds, then he spoke, "Oh yes. This one has a twist to it. Here." He placed the paper back onto the plain surface and took out his pen, writing out each step and explaining it to Dean.

Seth only listened to his banter. He'd tried working on whatever equation he could but it was nearly impossible. Their whispers to each other were like a barrier to him. His concentration was not where he wanted it to be. He was all ears, trying to figure out what was being exchanged between them.

He played lightly with his pencil, tapping it against the desk. His body unconsciously shuffled in his chair and his head was starting to hurt.

He was starting to notice something that was painfully obvious at this point. It presented itself as a sudden occurrence to Seth, an unwelcomed thought.

It seemed as if anytime the three of them were together, Roman just paid more attention to Dean. He looked differently at him. He spoke to him differently. He most likely thought about him in a completely different light than he did Seth. It was as if all this time there had been a favorite. Now it was just evident who that was.

Roman and Dean were on their own now. The equation had proven to be something quite simple for Dean to solve once he'd understood the concept. The older man had dragged a chair over to where the young sat. No conversation had sparked up between them yet but at least math was something they could talk about.

Reigns eyed the teen's paper, proud grin visible on his face, "Wow Dean. All of them are correct. I am impressed." He wasn't lying. Dean had not gotten a single one wrong, something that did not surprise Roman. Whenever the boy would hand over an assignment it seemed as though he would get questions wrong on purpose rather than by happening, "I am proud of you." Dean only moved around in his chair uncomfortably, muttering little nothings under his breath, "I'm sure your parents must also be very proud of you."

The brunette immediately scoffed and smirked as if he'd just heard a decent joke, "Yea."

"Am I wrong?"

"Maybe you are." His comfortable posture was back and he stretched his arms, "My dad's a piece of shit and my mom is too damn hypnotized to realize anything besides his existence."

"Really?"

"Yep." The teen smiled to himself as if thoughts were returning to him in all their bittersweet glory, "That son of a bitch always gets his way with her alright."

This turn in information rapidly shadowed his previous pleasant discovery. It all came to him so quickly, too fast to process fully and he was saddened. He was saddened by the way he'd reacted to it all. His smile faded upon realizing he was not one bit surprised to hear Dean talk about his parents in such a way. Such way as to demean them; cast them off as the lowest of the low.

"Is there something I should know about?"

The brunette ignored his concern to instead keep going, "My only hope in life is for my brother to get a better life."

"You have a brother."

"Max."

At this point, he'd been too late to regret giving his calculus teacher this much information but it wasn't like he could take it back at this point. If there ever was anything worth talking about when it came to his life, it was Max. It was all Max.

"Nice name." Roman offered a smile, "How old is he?"

"Yea. He is the nicest." There was no hint of sarcasm to it, "And he is seven."

The man raised his eyebrows at the answer. He'd not expected for Dean to have a brother, much less him being just a child.

"It sounds like you care deeply about him. Can't blame you really. A bond with a brother is something different, something even more special for some reason."

"For me there's every reason. Max is everything I have. He is the only part in my life that isn't bad or shitty. He is everything."

That had left some room for thought. The way Dean spoke about his brother, as if there was nothing else for him left but to make sure Max had it all, or at least what was necessary. Dean had a mission, his mission already having a name.

Seth sighed.

Great. Now there was more of a reason for Roman to be interested in Dean. The boy cared for his little brother, he wanted to get him away from their "piece of shit father" and "sheep mom" in order to give him something better. The life he'd never experience was something he was willing to give his sibling at all costs. There was so much determination in his voice, as if he'd stop at nothing. Whatever it took was right up Ambrose's alley and Seth was slowly keeping up with the idea that maybe he could just not compete with that. No way.

Roman wanted to help, that had been his registered nature since the moment Seth had gotten a conversation out of him. Reigns was a nurturer, the shoulder to cry on. Dean on his part, the boy was his perfect piece. They both fit just fine, like a puzzle, one being the lost soul in desperate need of change, the other being its willing aid.

"Roman." The youngest of the three called out quick and firm, surprising himself. His newfound compulsiveness was once again in effect. He turned with the gained conviction of playing along as smoothly as he could, "I need help with this one- with this problem. Can you help me? Please?"

The attractive man looked up mid-sentence. He regarded Seth with the expression of a child, giddy as one too given his and Dean's subject of conversation. They had both been joking for a couple minutes, as carefree as could be; all reminding him of when they'd both teased Dolph Ziggler before. Fond memory.

Now, his eyes remained locked on one thing, and one thing only. Seth's greeted him back, a small hint of sudden determination behind them. He stood up and regarded Ambrose, whose baby blues were still on Rollins, "Is there anything else you need help on Dean?"

"Seems you helped him enough." The sentence was delivered to them both in a whisper, something neither missed.

"Huh?" Reigns turned to the individual in the front desk with a puzzled expression.

"I mean-" There was a deep urge to stop. His thoughts spiraled down, mind rapidly chasing them in hopes he would retract what'd just come out of his mouth. Before he could think about it some more he spoke, "I mean- you guys haven't talked about math or homework or- for the last ten minutes so-"

"Well we aren't done anyway Seth." It was Roman who barged in and spoke, stopping the teen cold in his tracks, "Dean might need more help, so please if you could let him decide."

Ambrose's eyes widened briefly, both still fixated firmly on Rollins.

"I thought maybe you could help me." It was all Seth said before turning back around, apparently done with their little encounter. Yea, things were incredibly tense between the two. They'd probably not spoken since their little kiss.

Roman shook his head in frustration. He'd not missed the whiny tone in Seth's voice, "Is there something wrong? Is there a problem with me helping a student?"

The seconds dragged on like minutes, "No."

"Then what is it?"

"Why him?" Again a whisper from the young teen's lips came about.

"Why what?" Roman asked, annoyance clear.

No answer from Seth. The tension was palpable at this point, lingering on Dean's fingertips.

"Why Dean?" His voice was quiet, his posture doubtful as if speaking to himself, "Why him out of all people? Why did you want him here?" He wasn't facing either of them but his words were clear, "I- I thought it was just going-"

"Seth…" Roman didn't know what to do, it was all so sudden, so unexpected. This would be the type of thing he could expect from someone like Dean, not Seth. Never Seth.

But how wrong he was.

"You know how he treats me. Look at how he treats you." His voice was regaining its volume with each word muttered, "And after what he did last time he showed up…" He turned around to face them, his questioning expression regarding Roman, "Why do you keep bringing him back?"

"Jealous much Seth?" Ambrose was the one to butt in, helping Roman along the way as the man had no idea what to do.

The youngest teen scoffed, "Don't be silly. I would never be jealous of you."

"Yea. Seems I forgot you have it all. You have everything but the love of your favorite teacher."

"Dean. Stop." Reigns spoke.

"Oh and stop fucking whining for once okay. You have everything in life you could ever need but instead of appreciating that what do you do?"

"Dean."

"You bitch and moan about me being in this fucking place!"

"Cut it out Dean-"

"Do you have any fucking idea how easy you have it? Do you?!"

At this point, the shaggy teen had stood up and was walking towards Rollins only to be held back by Roman, an action he seemed not to notice. His focus was to Seth and Seth only.

"Stay out of this!" Seth cried out.

"Oh but you want me in this." The boy stretched his arms out to the side, "You're the one who brought my name into this."

"Dean…" Roman was now standing facing Ambrose, trying his best to keep him as far from Seth as possible, a barrier between them both.

"You're the one who wants me out of it so bad." His voice was louder as well, "You want me out and we both know it's only so you can let him fuck you."

"DEAN!" Reigns' mouth nearly hit the floor at how much that had shocked him. He pushed Ambrose lightly, "THAT'S ENOUGH."

"Just admit it!"

"You don't know how wrong you are." Rollins spoke, his voice low, "You can't see anything but whatever you want to see. You're a stubborn piece of shit!"

"Prove me wrong!" Dean tried to shuffle his way out of the teacher's firm grasp on his shirt.

"Seth!" Almost in tune with Dean, those words left Roman's lips.

"No! I am not going to stay quiet anymore!" He pointed to Ambrose, "You're a piece of shit Ambrose. You have always been, you will always be."

"Oh you have no idea how much that hurts me." The mockery in Dean's expression did not go unnoticed, "I care so much what you think of me."

"I don't care if you do or you don't. And quite frankly, I am getting a bit tired of this place anyway. I am getting tired-" This time his attention was to Roman, "I am tired of listening to how sorry you are for offending this son of a bitch." No words left Roman, "What you said is nothing compared to what he actually needs to hear. What he is."

"Oh I'm a monster." Dean spoke, a smirk creeping up on his thin lips.

"No." Seth shook his head, "You're scared." The smirk faded, "The thing is, Roman was right about you. You try to act so cool and tough to hide what you truly are. But he saw right through you and so do I. Now I see and I am done being your little bitch. You're a coward Ambrose. A bully. You pick on whoever you think is lower on the self-esteem scale than you but quite honestly I don't think- no- I KNOW there's no one lower than you."

There was silence.

And then the bell rang.

* * *

 ** _Ok so maybe not the best way to have ended this chapter but it was getting a bit too long for my liking. I am trying to make smaller chapters but its nearly impossible with so much I want to write._**

 ** _Okay so another day in tutoring eh? What did you guys think? Reviews are welcomed and hopefully you all enjoyed :)_**


	10. Chapter 10

Seth was sick. Literally.

He'd apparently caught the flu or something like that; he hadn't listened to what the doctor had to say. Some sort of bacteria had entered his body and he was now chained to his bed for a whole week, like a dog or something similar.

Despite how bad that sounded, to Seth it all seemed… okay. For the first time he was actually a little relieved to not be able to go to school. Relieved and it all had to do with tutoring.

He didn't wish to admit it but that class had gotten to him a lot more than he could've ever imagined. There was just so much more to it than the math. When Rollins had first heard of the idea he'd been excited, ecstatic to be able to spend some time with his attractive teacher.

Roman.

His connection with Dean did not make him any less good-looking.

Dean.

Damn that bastard, always ruining everything with just his mere presence.

Seth sighed.

He could honestly go on and on forever about how much he hated Dean and liked Roman. How much tutoring annoyed him. How much he wished it would all be over and he could go back to being the bright kid with no C's in calculus.

"Sweetheart." The overly sweet tone of his mother's usually raspy voice awoke him from his thoughts. She entered the room with such grace and control, it almost made Seth place a book over his head and practice walking, "Your dad and I are going to your school to ask for your assignments for the week." She sat on the edge of the bed, "Of course, you won't be able to come with since you're sick and all." Her pretty eyes locked into some distance unknown to Seth and she sighed, a hint of disappointment evident, "Too bad."

"Yea…" He sighed, unsure what to say next that would not disappoint her any further. He failed and nothing came out.

"Well then, we better get going." She stood up, and without regarding her son any further, walked out.

The young boy sighed and relaxed back onto his bed.

Relax.

His body was too tense for that. On one side his parents' were obviously upset he had to miss school. There was nothing he despised more in the world than disappointing them and he'd done just that. On the other, there was the second thing he despised the most.

A thorn on his side that was gonna take some time to get rid of.

More time than he'd thought. All thanks to Roman.

* * *

Another Monday.

Roman sat on his desk, papers sprawled out on the wooden surface. He sighed in resignation at the fact that he wasn't going to be able to finish grading before lunch.

Before tutoring.

A day in tutoring without Seth. He'd met the boys' parents earlier in the day, before the bell had rang for first period. Both individuals had knocked politely on his door and introduced themselves.

 _"_ _Hello Mr. Reigns?"_

 _"_ _Come on in."_

 _A really pretty woman came to view, small handbag at her side. He hair was brown and cascaded in light curls down to the middle of her back. Her stance was accentuated by a gray business suit and pointy heels. Behind her stood a bull of a man; easily as fit and similar in built to Roman, his appearance could scare a bull. His head was shaved bald and he also paraded a black business suit and red tie._

 _The pretty woman stretched out her small hand towards him, "Stephanie McMahon."_

 _Their aura was something else. The brief tension both individuals, so clean cut and well put together, gave off was pretty noticeable and a little, a little intimidating? Roman had no idea what it was but right away without ever saying a word to either he could tell, they were people of power._

 _The fact made him stand as quick as he could in appreciation and grant her his hand. Hers were soft as silk, "Roman. Roman Reigns."_

 _"_ _Nice name." The man was the one to speak in return, Stephanie only giving out a brief nod as they shook hands, "Hunter Helmsley." They also shook hands, the man's filling the void previously left by Stephanie's much smaller hands._

 _Speaking of Stephanie, she spoke next, apparently spotting a little of Roman's sudden confusion at seeing those two perfect strangers in his class, "We're Seth's parents."_

 _Okay, now it all made sense._

 _No, it really didn't. What were they doing in his class? Where was Seth?_

 _"_ _Oh okay." The man couldn't help his smirk at the mere mention of that name, "I thought you might've been some private detectives or something. Those suits are-" He couldn't finish his current train of words, realization of the position he'd put himself in hitting hard. He hoped he hadn't made a complete fool of himself. Hunter chuckled and Stephanie only smiled dryly, "What can I do for you?" Okay things were already awkward._

 _"_ _Yes we get that a lot, but Mr. Reigns we're here to collect our son's homework. You see, he is sick and won't be able to attend classes for the week." Her disappointed expression was not lost on Roman._

 _His expression dropped worse, "Is he alright? What- what happened to him?" He tried to act calm and collected but his feelings betrayed him. He was worried sick._

 _"_ _Just a case of the flu. We had a long chat with the doctor, however, and he will be fine."_

 _Relief was not yet catching up to him, "Are you sure? Sometimes doctors have no idea what they're talking about-"_

 _Stephanie spoke, "Well our family doctor also happens to be one of the best in not only the state, but the country. So whatever he says goes." She took note of his worried gray eyes, "He'll be good. As good as new."_

 _"_ _We're giving him some time to rest but would like his homework as well." Now it was Hunter's turn to butt in._

 _"_ _Yes, you see, we believe in keeping the children busy at all times. We want Seth to rest but also focus on school while he's at it."_

 _"_ _Well don't push him too hard. He has to rest." Those words came out before they could be stopped._

 _"_ _Yes we are very well aware of that fact."_

 _A small silence followed after those last words by the woman; it filled the room with its ice cold presence. Both Stephanie and Hunter looked at him as if waiting for something.  
"Oh yea-" The attractive teacher turned to one of his desk drawers. Opening the large compartment he pulled out a manila folder, "The homework."_

The bell rung to lunch.

Roman's students all stood up in unison, handing in their papers one by one.

"Alright guys see you all tomorrow." He nodded towards each one and tried his best to ignore the overexcited teenage girls winking at him.

He couldn't focus on them. At all.

He would be lying to himself if he said there hadn't been one thing and one thing only in his mind all morning.

Seth.

He was worried about the boy, too worried almost. He hadn't been able to focus fully on teaching and that was becoming a problem. When something interfered with your one job then a line had to be drawn. He had to stop thinking about him, it was taking over.

Then an idea came to mind, something he could not help once it was in motion. He could always go and visit Seth to see how he was. Maybe he was actually sicker than his parents had made it sound. But then again, if somebody would be worried sick, no pun intended, it would be the boy's mom and dad; they'd both seemed pretty relaxed, oblivious to it even.

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal. Maybe Roman was just exaggerating, a typical side effect of caring too much about someone. Uh oh. This was territory he did not want to be in. This had danger written all over it. The moment you become so attached with someone you, you're bound to get hurt doing it.

"Knock knock."

All thoughts were gone at the familiar presence now in the room. A presence that could not keep Roman from cracking a smile, the first one all day, "Hey Dean. How are you?"

"Peachy fucking keen man-"

"Dean…"

"Oh, right." The young teen headed towards his usual spot, "I forget how you don't like cussing." He mocked Roman by making a disgusted sound.

"Yea well this is school, not some jailhouse."

"Jailhouse." Again he mocked.

"Hey Dean?"

"Yo."

"Sit in front today. Seth's not gonna be here all week, so you can take his spot." He motioned for the youngest teen's desk right in front of the classroom.

"Huh?" Ambrose looked genuinely confused. Seth Rollins was not going to be in school all week? That was fucking new. A cluster of words that did not go together, "Are you serious?"

"Yea, sit over here."

"Hah." The teen scoffed playfully, "That's new. Seems Mr. Brainiac might be human after all and must give out to the regular human ways."

"Yea, he's sick." Reigns frowned, not too flattered by the reminder, "I guess a very… human thing to do."

"Fucking a!" The teen tried stopping himself from going any further upon catching his teacher's menacing eyes. Menacing but gentle. He pointed towards the deserted spot, "And what makes you think I wanna sit in that geek infested chair? Might turn me all smart and… whatnot."

"Yea, we don't wanna risk that." Reigns raised his eyebrows, "Believe me I would much rather have you back there where I don't have to see your face up close but my legs are a bit sore today so, yea, don't think I wanna walk that much-"

"Alright alright. Whatever." With defeat, the young boy walked over to the desk and sat down, not before wiping some of the surface with his hand. Roman only watched in amusement. As if that would keep the evil Seth demons away. He motioned with his arms, waiting for Ambrose to be done, "Oh, yea. Continue now."

Reigns had no choice but to roll his eyes, a chuckle threatening to escape his lips; then it hit him. This was going to be his first tutoring alone with Dean. That was interesting. A couple weeks ago he would've never gotten the rebellious teen to show up, now he was there no problem by himself. Now the two were alone.

He honestly did not feel prepared for that but would play it off as composed as he could.

 _"_ _Think of Seth's parents."_ He mentally told himself, _"Think how intimidating they are. How cool they are. How graceful."_

Oh yeah, he was ready now.

Or maybe not. Who knew anymore with so much that had gone down between him and teen before. All in a matter of weeks.

"So Dean, anything you need help on today?'

"Nah." The teen did not look up once, he seemed to be doodling something onto his backpack which was still on his desk.

"Is that a no?"

"Yea."

"A yes?"

"Nah."

"Jesus Christ, Dean."

"That's my name, don't wear it out." The teacher simply sighed in frustration. He, however, wasn't annoyed at all.

"Okay, Dean."

"I wanna know more about you."

"What?" This was new. Since when was Dean Ambrose interested in him?

"Yea. Tell me about you."

"This is tutoring-"

"I know." He still didn't look up, too busy drawing on the cloth of his dirty backpack.

"Not some get-to-know-your-teacher hour."

"Technically it's only thirty minutes but okay."

"Why do you wanna know about me?"

"Because I am done with this homework and since Rollins is not around to annoy the hell out of, then I turn my attention fully…" He placed his elbows on the desk, index fingers caressing at his chin before pointing at Roman, "to you."

"Wow. That was- that was pretty insightful Dean, good job." He chuckled and leaned back onto his chair, "There's not much to know actually-"

"Bullshit."

"Huh?"

"I call bullshit on that one. And I know you don't like cussing and whatnot, this is not a 'jailhouse' or whatever the hell you called it earlier, but I know some strong bullshit when I smell it."

"Ugh." Roman furrowed his brow in disgust.

Something Dean ignored, "See I might look dumb and even act like it sometimes, I might even be dumb, but I get a very good… hunch, when it comes to people."  
Roman leaned forward onto his own desk, placing both elbows on the small space, mirroring the boy, "Huh. And what does that uh, 'hunch' tell you now?"

For a moment, the light brunette was silent. His eyes bore through Roman, examining every inch, every pore on his face. His expression was focused, like a detective when questioning. After what seemed like a full minute, he spoke, "I think… there's a lot more to you than you let on. You said you moved here this summer, and that's true. But the thing is, it's not that you're here, it's why you're here. Maybe a falling out with a friend or family member." He paused a few moments, then continued, "Then it hits me that this place is pretty small and unknown so it's a nice spot to… hide out… I also think you're scared of something."

Wow. That was unexpected and almost too perfect of a story. Reigns raised his eyebrows dumbfounded, "Wow, that's- that's quite a story." He chuckled awkwardly and paused before speaking, "And afraid of what exactly?" His deep voice dropped in a second, "What do you think I'm afraid of, Dean?"

"I don't know." The teen shook his head lightly, never once taking his eyes off his teacher, "The possibilities might be endless."

"Well, that left me speechless." The attractive individual stood up, pretending some half-assed stretches as an attempt to cool down. He felt a bit dizzy, "One hell of an evaluation there Dean. Ever considered a career in psychology?"

"No fu- no way."

"Good, you're learning."

* * *

Time went by as fast as it had been given to them.

"So what about basketball?"

"Oh come on man are you serious? I HATE basketball with a passion."

"Oh come on, seriously? Didn't you play in middle school or something?"

"If by play you mean feel up panties behind the bleachers during gym, then yeah, I guess I played very well." Ambrose chuckled to himself, in deep remembering.

Roman rolled his eyes, they'd been immersed in this sports conversation for ten minutes and he still couldn't get a favorite sport out of Dean; or a favorite anything for that matter, "Weren't you a little young for that?"

"I was never too young for anything." Ambrose smirked.

To which Reigns just sighed, about to give up on this, "Well, what about football?"

"What about it?"

"You like football?"

"I mean, my old man watches it on occasion."

"You?"

"Nah. Why don't you make me wear a neon muscle shirt and call me Dolph Ziggler already, geez."

"I didn't know he played."

The teen scoffed, "We don't know A LOT about him."

Well, who would've thought there was more to the bleached blonde, vain exterior and shades.

"I played too."

"Oh." Now Ambrose was regaining interest and immediately Reigns' own regret with it, "High school jock?"

"Uh, sorta." The teacher rubbed thumb and index finger against the rough surface of his beard, "More… college I guess."

"You played college?" Dean raised his eyebrows in astonishment. He seemed impressed, something that cracked a self-conscious smile out of Roman.

"Yeah. I was on a scholarship. Well, it wasn't all that really-"

"Yeah, tell that to Ziggler" The teen blew out a raspberry. Very child of him, "Were you good?"

"I guess. I don't know really."

"How can you not know? You're either good or you sucked ass there's no not-knowing."

"They told me I was."

"Ah, then that means you were."

"It doesn't really matter- it's not like I'm going back anytime soon to play college football." Reigns chuckled awkwardly. Him and his big mouth that knew no bounds.

"That still doesn't answer the question. Something tells me you're evading it."

"Evading?" Roman raised his eyebrows.

"You know what I mean."

The teacher sighed, clear to him that he wouldn't be able to get out of this one without giving the teen a bit more information. Resigned, he added, "People said I was good. I don't know though. To this day I still don't know if I was ever any good."

"Why not?" The kid was leaning forward more and more each time, his chest now firmly pressed against the edge of the desk, his foot kicking at his back lightly, its little thud the only sound in the room.

Clearly not going anywhere with fifteen minutes still to lunch, Roman spoke as if he was in front of the entire school, everyone judging his every word. He was trapped in a cage and only his words could open it, how much he revealed, "I came up with an injury." Only after his chest began to ache did he realize he'd been holding his breath for long. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about, the last thing he would tell anyone.

Yet he was telling Dean. The person sitting next to him with his attention fully on him, taking in his every sentence.

And yet with that much information, he responded as casually as possible, "Was it bad?"

Reigns sighed, "Yea- yea I mean it kicked me pretty hard."

"How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long was it till you could play again?"

There was a pause. A sudden silence, a moment to think. The older man looked towards the window in admiration of the wonderfully cloudy sky outside, his mind in a completely different place. For a moment he wished he was a cloud, floating high above.

The boy waited and waited until he decided to speak, so distant, so lost, "I was- I was never able to play again. It sidelined me for good."

Dean only stared. Even when Roman tried to play it off as nothing, it was evident. This wasn't a fresh wound, but boy did it still hurt him like a bitch.

That was his cue to change the subject. Reigns might've been his teacher, but even Dean knew of limits.

"So what about Seth?"

"What about him?" Roman felt a wave of surprise and relief wash over him, mostly relief.

"Did you like the little kiss?"

"DEAN!" Okay, now it was mostly surprise. That and shock. Though how could he still be surprised with Dean? "What is WRONG with you?"

"It's only a question." The brunette chuckled and played it off as if that wasn't a giant elephant in the room.

"You're incredible." He rubbed at his face and sighed, something he did a lot when he was with Ambrose.

"Come on. It's an innocent little question." His raspy voice was light, a playful little grin threatening him.

"Yeah about a not-so-innocent subject. Geez, Dean don't you ever think about what comes out of your mouth?"

"Nope. I try, but it's just not gonna happen." He sighed, smirk still there, "I just go with it."

Okay, now he was beginning to feel frustrated. He didn't want to be asked about Seth, things were already weird enough between them. Hell, Roman had even thought about moving the boy to another teacher for tutoring. Of course, that was a plan that had not come to fruition, and neither was getting angry at Dean. No, he'd already nearly lost the student once, he wasn't going to do it again.

Instead he decided to once again follow up on his game.

And after a brief pause, he played, "Well Dean, with how much you talk about Seth… I would say you're the one with the little crush."

"What are you insinuating?" Another big word. Yeah, he was playing the game alright. The teen's expression dropped in second, he seemed angry, body tensing up, "Are you saying I like Seth? You're saying I like that little dweeb?"

"Dweeb." Reigns snorted. No reaction came from Ambrose, "I mean, just judging by the way you always tease him. That's all. Usually when someone teases another person so much, it means something."

The boy scoffed, "Please. For all I know, it's you who loves to kiss dudes in school."

"Dean…"

"What made you kiss him? Or did he kiss you?" The man sighed, "For sure he kissed you. It was him wasn't it? I mean of course he fucking LOVES you or some shit. Fucking dweeb."

"That's TWO words in less than ten seconds. TWO." He motioned with his fingers, exasperated though clearly not as annoyed as he should've been. But why?

"Would you kiss me?"

"Huh?"

"Would you kiss me? I mean, I'm pretty cute, I know."

Okay, that left him speechless, "Dean, I-"

"You would huh? I can tell by the way you're blushing." Oh boy, he was right, his skin did all of a sudden feel hot, "It's cool though, like I said, I ignite those reactions in people." Big word, "I might even let you kiss me in the future who knows, if you're lucky." His eyes widened, "Eh, another reaction." Now he was just plain proud of himself, "I've kissed a dude before so it shouldn't be that different. Don't worry." Roman's mouth dropped, he did not expect this at all, "But I'm not about that gay shit. No way man. Not me." He quickly corrected himself, his confession clearly an accident product of his big mouth. Guess they weren't that different after all.

Then the bell rang.

"Wow." The older individual let go of his breath, something he hadn't even realized he'd been keeping. Again.

The teenager stood from his desk, grabbing his backpack and getting ready to leave. Roman remained in his seat. He had no idea what'd just happened. Too much information had been the theme of this session. From both of them. What was this, therapy?

"Wrestling." Reigns had to look up at the person standing in front of his desk. Dean regarded him then continued walking towards the door.

"Huh?" He called out, still dazed.

"You asked me what sport I liked." He continued on, matter of factly, "I like wrestling."


	11. Chapter 11

"Dean."

He called out.

"Dean?"

The young boy was blank until he felt an unfamiliar touch, tugging at his sleeve.

And he snapped out of it, flinching, his body instinctively dragging away from the sensation rapidly, "Huh?" His breathing quickened a bit, but thankfully not enough to alert the individual before him.

"Is everything alright?" Then came that familiar sound. Its touch as unknown as the galaxy, but its sound as known as the skies.

"Yeah- yeah." Then teen rubbed at his cheeks lightly, still a bit disoriented.

Roman frowned, gray eyes dull even under the artificial room lights. That was new. They'd always seemed to hold so much; an infinite, bottomless ocean. They held nothing but concern then, preoccupation washing over them rapidly, leaving a vast behind, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I spaced out for a second." He blinked rapidly, trying his best to come back from that sudden blur.

Reigns only nodded. Seemed blackouts were a common thing to the boy. This wasn't the first time he'd been present to witness one, and it worried him. Seemed he worried too much when it came to Dean, or Seth.

And boy was he still worried sick about Seth. How was he? Was he still sick? It was almost a week since he'd been to school, only the weekend left until then. He'd thought about him all week, the only time those thoughts left him alone being when he was in tutoring, and he knew it had everything to do with Dean. The rowdy teen was proving with each passing day what a good distraction he was, from anything. He suddenly wondered if Seth was one too.

The man nodded to himself upon realizing the answer and chuckled, loud enough for Dean to hear.

The teen raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, "What's so funny?"

Roman shook his head rapidly, smile taking a bit more to dissolve, "Nothing."

Ambrose's expression did not change. He did not buy it, but he was still dizzy from being brought back to reality so suddenly. He just decided to leave it alone this time, instead opting for a quick, "Ok."

Reigns continued on, the following silence lasting too long for his liking. He did not want to explain himself as it usually happened when he was with the boy, "So, Dean." He took advantage of the bell ringing and the classroom clearing out in large, heaping waves as an opportunity to give the teen his graded work. He walked over to his desk and shuffled around in the large drawers, the usual.

The boy on his part began putting his things away hurriedly, as if the realization that classes were done for the week had barely hit him. He wasted no time however, dumping as much stuff as he could into the small backpack. Roman ignored how fast he was moving, how fast he seemed to want to get out of there. Tried ignoring how with every breath the younger individual took, the thought of not being able to see him for two whole days came fast approaching, threatening to smack him right in the face. A thought he definitely did not want.

Instead, he placed a sheet of paper on the teen's small desk just as he was about to go for the door. He stopped right in his tracks, confused expression drawn onto his face, "What is this?" He asked.

"Your quiz." The teacher spoke proudly, having a hard time keeping his excitement within him.

He still looked puzzled as could be, it was near adorable, "What quiz?"

Roman rolled his eyes but chuckled, "The quiz I gave you guys last week." Ambrose picked it up and eyed it intently, eyes squinting as he focused, most likely scanning to see how many he'd gotten wrong this time. Reigns' grin grew even more as he spoke, "You got none wrong Dean."

This was the first time since the bell had rung that Ambrose had given him a glance, a full one, baby blues meeting his eyes intently, "Huh?"

"You got them all right man! An 'A'!" He patted the boy on the shoulder, causing him to flinch suddenly but Roman ignored it, his hand staying where he'd placed it.

"Holy shit." Dean smiled proudly, too surprised to do or feel anything about the sudden weight of Reigns' hand still on his shoulder.

"I'm really proud of you Dean!" This time he squeezed lightly, prompting the teen to shuffle his shoulder away awkwardly from the touch, forcing the man's hand down onto his side. He masked his sudden surprise and light embarrassment by clapping them together, "That's awesome Dean. I am really glad. You improved so much!"

The teen eyed his paper some more, looking for something, anything to distract himself. Then he found it, "Wait a minute." He pointed at one particular problem and spoke, "This one's in pen."

He gave Roman the sheet which he didn't look at. Already the teacher knew what he meant, "Yeah."

"You corrected it huh?"

"I didn't even notice it."

"Bullshit."

"Okay. Maybe I did." The older man frowned, now realizing he should've used pencil, "Consider it a freebie."

Instead of being angry, in typical Ambrose fashion the kid smirked it off, "Why are you giving me freebies now? Why are you always so nice to me?" His tone was light, clearly teasing once again.

Then, he had an idea. Something stupid, maybe. Sometimes, stupid ideas were ones that worked best, "Tell you what." He walked over to his chair once again, grabbing his coat and readying his suitcase, randomly shuffling papers inside it mirroring what Dean had done earlier. He paced back towards the teen and stood in front of him, "Why don't I tell you about it over some ice cream?"

* * *

This was so stupid. Dean knew this was a bad idea from the moment he'd heard the man ask. Even stupider, however, had been his response.

Yes?

Yes, he wanted to go for some ice cream with his calculus teacher?

Sure he really wanted some ice cream, food was his first love, but why? Did he really want to go somewhere with this man?

No.

And what if he took him to some bad ice cream place?! What if the ice cream was dry and stale?!

Hell no.

That would be an abomination for sure, their little date ruined forever.

Date.

He scoffed at the mere idea. Not that he thought Reigns wasn't good-looking or anything, clearly he was. Just, who would've thought he would be spending his Friday evening with his teacher? A teacher.

Who would've thought.

He shook his head lightly, starring, still in thought through the passenger window of Roman's 2010 black Charger. Fitting car. Nice car, he thought. Clearly something suited for Roman. The interior smelling of leather and men's cologne, a nice combination; very clean, very cut.

"And we're here." He glanced over at Roman who only had a tiny smile on his face, enhancing his good features.

Damn, beautiful, beautiful bastard, Dean thought.

This was also his favorite ice cream place in town, the best one there was. Okay, maybe this little teacher-student date didn't have to suck so bad. Though he nearly puked at the mention of the word "date".

They both got out of the vehicle, Roman fiddling with the little square apparatus in his hand. It took him a while to get the hang of it, a few seconds until the car beeped out in response. Alarm activated.

"You don't know how to work the alarm?" The teen chuckled dryly and smirked.

His teacher frowned, "I just got it."

"It's nice." He regretted the compliment a little, but what the hell. It was a very nice car. Low and sleek, anything a guy could ever want.

"Oh." Reigns looked back at the piece parked out in front of the shoppe but continued walking. He spoke as they both walked inside, Dean in front, "Yeah."

Both individuals scanned the big, colorful menu board behind the register. Dean stared tentatively at all his options despite already knowing what he wanted, wondering if Roman would pay. He'd invited right? He had to pay, it was the rules. Not that anyone had ever paid for him.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder. Hating himself a bit more each time for it, the little tinge of guilt leaving its nasty trail in his gut.

Was he… embarrassed? Embarrassed to be bought ice cream? He had no idea what that uncomfortable feeling at the center of his stomach was but he almost had to admit to himself that this was weird. Well, he already knew that. This was pretty fucking weird but why was he feeling uncomfortable? Why was he almost guilty?

"Dean?" Again the man regarded him, stared at him so attentively as he usually fucking did. He made the boy feel as though he was being examined or something. Him on a surgery table. His brain tugged at each side, looked at from every angle. He hated that. People usually looked at his surface, one short look and they were scared, running away from him as fast as they fucking could. Roman? Roman looked for more, at his mind. He picked at it all looking for what? He didn't know, but it was pretty damn uncomfortable. Why didn't he run away like all the others? "Dean."

He called again and this time the teen knew he had to respond, "What?" Fuck.

"Are you alright?"

This time his eyes found the man. He tried his best not to let on that he was shaking lightly, "Yeah- yeah man why the fuck wouldn't I be?" The assistant behind the counter only cleared her throat awkwardly, clearly not knowing what to do, or think. He spoke before she had time to muster anything up, "I want the mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone."

Roman chuckled, "That sounds nice." No sarcasm there.

"Yeah." He responded, still a bit shaky.

What the fuck was up with him?  
The older individual turned to the young girl in the bright blue hat and shirt, she immediately shrunk a little at his gaze. Good, Dean thought. At least he wasn't the only one affected by those eyes.

"I'll have that one, just a scoop. And…" He faded on, scanning within the various flavors on the freezer in front of him, "The, uh, butter pecan."

"Ew."

"What?" The man asked playfully, turning to Dean, eyes squinting, "Isn't that a nice combination?"

He shook his head and blew out, "Nope."

"Well you don't know what's good." He blew a raspberry, almost making the boy chuckle, "Can you believe him?" He turned to the young girl who only blushed more and smiled wider.

They both sat on the table farthest from the counters, from anyone really. The one in the corner near the bathrooms no one seemed to go into. This was good to Dean. He could eat his ice cream in peace.

And he did, getting to it like this was the last savory iced treat he would ever get to enjoy. Gulps of sweet, chocolatey heaven going down his throat, the mint cooling his tongue. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed ice cream. The very staple of human nature.

After one more spoonful, he was the one who spoke, "So…" He started, licking at the plastic baby blue spoon until it was spotless, "What was that question you said you would answer me here?"

"Why I'm so nice to everyone?" As opposed to Dean, Roman was more careful with his ice cream, eating small amounts at a time, not wanting to finish it just yet. Sweet and minty all at once. Exploding flavors in his mouth with each spoon. He was in heaven if there even was one, that little cup holding all that was good in the world.

"Oh yeah." Ambrose spoke, a soft green drop of his treat hitting the table. He gasped as if in pain, "Oh shit."

Reigns raised his eyebrows in response, eyeing the crime scene, "Wow. Even I felt that."

"That's pain man. Your ice cream falls? That's the most painful shit in the world."

"You never know true pain until that happens." He agreed, nodding, "I get it."

The teen pursed his lips and frowned as he stared at the tiny drop tainting the white surface, "Fucking hell. Anyway go on."

Still he went back to eating his ice cream as before, making Roman chuckle, "Go on with what?"

Ambrose only looked up at him, matter-of-factly, "Don't evade me now man. You know what."

"Oh yeah... man. Why I'm so nice to everyone." He rubbed at his face with both hands, smile still plastered on his face. He almost felt stupid, "I don't know. I guess it's my nature. To be nice."

"Don't start with the guessing again. It's not even a yes or no answer. Just answer the goddamn question without so many maybes."

"I haven't even said maybe."

"Or I guess. Whatever." He threw a dismissive hand at Reigns and continued on with his eating.

"Well I can't help it. Just like I can't help being nice to you." He grabbed the small cup, his large hand towering over it. Clearly this was the only answer Dean was gonna get.

"Well you're too nice. To me."

He only laughed it off, leaning back onto his chair as comfortably as he could, admiring the view in front of him.

Dean was... Dean. He could explain in a million ways how his light brown hair fell over his features, caressing at the soft bright skin. He suddenly found himself wondering how it would feel against his hand. He retracted that thought immediately. No, this was dangerous territory. To suddenly wonder.

But man, did he want to wonder.

* * *

They both left the ice cream shoppe an hour later as the sun began its descent over them. Random conversation had happened, but nothing special. Both were just very high on sugar and it all felt… good. They both felt really good. To Dean it hadn't been as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. To Roman it had all been more a lot more pleasant than he thought it could be. Who knew him and Dean Ambrose could hang out? Actually hang out.

"What are your goals right now Dean?" The man spoke as they both took a slow walk along the various shops in the plaza, Ambrose only agreeing after careful persuasion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, lightly kicking a pebble along with them, regarding the shadows their bodies cast on the concrete, examining how much different they looked from each other, side by side. Like kites dancing with each other in mid-air.

Some people would say they looked good together.

"You know…" Reigns' gaze was forward, occasionally aimed towards Dean.

"Nah. I don't." The smaller individual shook his head and continued, "There are goals for every moment, every second. I could have a goal right this second about going to sleep as soon as I get home, or come back for more ice cream. If you mean my goal right now, then that's what it is."

The raven haired man smiled to himself. Well played. He stopped a little and pointed back where they'd come from, "We can go back if you want more."

Dean shook his head, "Nah man. A gallon's my limit."

He chuckled, "Okay, fair enough." Again his eyes scanned the side of Dean's face briefly, "Long-term goals is what I mean."

"Then I don't know." The pebble he'd been kicking was now on Roman's side, the man passing it back to him with one swift strike of his polished black shoes. Geez, even his shoes were gentlemanly as hell.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't." He spat back, a little annoyed at this already. Everyone seemed to always have that question in store for him, "Do I look like someone with a plan?"

"Another fair point." Roman answered, "But I somehow feel you do."

"Nah. I'm not a one-way bird man. That one direction type shit has never worked for me." Roman's brows furrowed slightly, "I fly everywhere." Suddenly, he slowed his walk until it stopped completely, making the older man turn to him, stopping as well. He stretched a little and sighed, "I don't believe in goals. They're only any good when you commit to them. Even then who knows if they come true."

"And you never commit?"

"Not as long as I've lived. It's quite pointless really. And stupid. Everyone always wants something for their future, why can't they just live where they are?"

Roman stayed silent. He'd once had goals. He'd once believed in that long held promise that if you could think it, you could achieve it. And he was now almost feeling guilty for it.

The tone of Dean's voice somehow convinced him. Still he wasn't letting on, he wanted to know why such a young soul thought that way, "We all have a plan." A gentle breeze blew at the tiny black strands of hair that'd escaped from his bun, "Come on Dean. What about ten years from now?" He felt as though he was somehow not wording his thoughts correctly, "Where do you see yourself then? In ten years."

"Here."

"Bullshit." He noticed the teen's baby blues widening lightly. Hell, even he was surprised at using that word, so unlike him, "You gotta see something else. You like wrestling-"

"Yeah." He answered defensively, as if that was a real personal piece of his information. As if protecting a precious jewel. One Roman was now threatening.

"Then what about that?"

"What about what?" He now had his arms crossed in front of him, more as a defense tactic than anything else. His shaggy mop of light brown hair blew with the gentle wind, covering his eyes a little, each strand glowing with the sun.

He looked absolutely adorable. Adorable to Roman even then in the dimming light of day. He almost wanted to say it. Almost. The words so close to his mouth they were ready to escape, but he didn't let them. It took a lot out of him. Something that did not surprise him. He had to hold his tongue a lot when with Dean, or Seth for that matter.

"Wrestling." He opted to continue, "If you like it a lot why don't you try it. It might turn out to be your passion."

"It already is. And trying it is impossible. I would never make it." He scoffed, looking elsewhere. Eyes searching for whatever distraction he could find.

"DEAN!"

And he found it.

It came in small form. Little steps running desperately towards him. He felt a force as strong as cotton on his side. It nearly knocked him sideways.

"Max!" He shrieked, immediately thankful for his little brother's presence, "What are you doing here?" He returned the little boy's eager embrace.

His sibling pointed at something in the short distance. Both guys followed his small index finger towards a group a couple feet away. It consisted of about ten children all in the school's uniform of deep blue polos and khakis. Within that group was a woman of about thirty, tall, golden yellow ponytail and knee-length gray skirt. She seemed preoccupied talking to a town guide as he answered her towering questions about prices.

"Oh." Dean smiled down at his sibling sweetly then looked towards Roman, certainly doubting whether he should introduce them or not, "Max, this is Roman. one of my teachers."

Reigns on his part, and to the teen's surprise, granted the boy his most genuine smile, and leaning on one knee also gave him his hand to shake, "Nice to meet you Max."

The young boy smiled big, letting his hand fill a small void on Roman's, "Nice to meet you too Mr. Reigns."

Ambrose smiled nervously. He was really protective of his brother. Too protective almost that no one really knew about him.

"Dean has told me so much about you." The professor lied, something that took him completely by surprise once again. His eyes widened. Seemed Roman knew exactly how to talk to the little brothers of his students.

Then he remembered the man was a teacher. He should know these things.

"I'm the best one in the family." Dean rolled his eyes. Typical Max, always a charmer. Roman laughed, actually laughed. It wasn't in a rude, laughing at a joke type of laugh, but he was genuinely chuckling, politely chuckling. So much so that Max continued, "I'm the smartest too."

"Yeah right." Ambrose butted in playfully.

"I don't know Max, Dean is really really smart." Roman responded with an assurance difficult to ignore, but gentle enough to know he was talking to a seven year old. He eyed Dean who was also kneeling next to Max as he spoke those words.

The teen couldn't mask his creeping chuckle despite his urge to crawl into the tightest, darkest place possible.

"I am smarter than him." The little boy continued, "I'm the smallest in my class. Huh Dean?"

Roman seemed a bit lost.

"Yep." Ambrose quickly explained, "He's a year ahead. His teachers were really impressed."

"Wow, that's awesome Max. Bet you feel great being the smartest in school huh?"

"Yeah." The boy chuckled, he was taking a liking to Reigns for sure.

"Max!" They heard a female voice getting near them, "The bus is ready to take us back come on." Young Ms. Flair approached them swiftly and smiled upon registering who the boy had been talking to. She ignored Dean first, "Roman! Hey!"

"Hey Charlotte." The older man extended her the same courtesy of a smile and quick hug.

Dean wondered why the hell they spoke in first names.

"Haven't seen you in such a long time!" Her smile was obviously not going to fade, despite his on the cusp of being more as a means to be polite than anything else.

Huh, Dean thought. Granting a smile of his own at the fact that Roman didn't give those to him, or Max. Nope. They only got the best smiles Reigns offered, not forced ones like Ms. Charlotte had to make do with.

They continued on their chatter, small talk about the weather and colleagues took place. It seemed their chosen jobs also came with dozens of faces to meet and suddenly run into when in town. As if nothing.

It was obvious they knew each other because they were both teachers.

And Ambrose had now tuned them out. Small talk never being his "thing".

"You know Dean right?"

And he was brought back just like that.

"Of course!" She granted him a polite smile, kind of like the one Roman had given her.

Bitch returning the favor.

Unfortunately she was a nice person in general, not only when Roman was around so he had to be good, "Hi Ms. Flair."

"How are you? Max has asked about you all day."

"Good. Really? He never pays attention to me at home."

"Oh I'm sure that's a lie! He adores you!"

His cheeks flushed a light pink. His only reaction being to hold Max close to him, an arm around the kid's small shoulders. Max responded by leaning his head against his brother's hip.

Roman smiled at the action and once again thought about how adorable he was, "I'm sure he does. Dean must be an incredible brother, I can tell."

Ambrose could feel the color draining from his face, all being replaced by a deep shade of red. Fuck.

"Well, we gotta go now." Ms. Flair spoke, saving him from any more embarrassment, "The bus is gonna leave us if we don't." She signaled the driver they were on their way and he only shrugged and continued taking puffs of his near finished cigarette. She turned to them again, to Reigns, "So nice seeing you today Roman."

"Same Charlotte." Again with the first name calling, Dean thought, not so smiley anymore. Reigns leaned on one knee again in front of Max and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It was really nice finally meeting you Max." He looked up at Ambrose, "Be good to your brother okay. He cares a lot about you."

"I know, I will." Max nodded.

Roman once again smiled. A warm, genuine smile. The biggest one he'd given all day. And it was all Max's.

Suck on that Ms. Flair, the teen thought.

They all gave their final goodbyes, Dean and Max hugging longer than they'd been allowed. Max not wanting to leave and in near tears at saying bye to his brother. Dean feeling a knot in his throat despite the fact they would see each other in about an hour. It was always hard saying goodbye to that little fella, no matter how many times it happened or how long it would take them to see each other again. Each time highlighted by the fact that it was absolutely awful.

To Dean anyway.

"Thanks for been nice to Max. And not telling him I hadn't told you about him."

They were now alone again.

Reigns seemed shocked, "No, don't thank me." He shook his head, look serious, stern even, "Max is adorable. Seems really smart too. Really well-spoken."

"He is." He reassured the teacher, "He is really smart and funny too, though you didn't really get a taste of his humor today." Roman chuckled, "He is amazing, he really is." He sighed, looking out into the distance at where the bus had just previously turned, "That kid is my life."

"He seems to think the same about you."

Once again they locked eyes, and their moment seemed to freeze little by little in time, then all at once. Both too into it to even speak. Glued to their spots, unable to move even the slightest. This was the first moment they'd had and it was hard to let go of it.

Much harder to come back from it.

"I gotta go." Dean spoke, afraid to go into a trance again, this time with his teacher, "Gotta get home before Max does."

"Okay." Was all the man said. Disappointment a bit in his voice. He started walking towards his car, motioning for the boy to come along.  
"No- uh, I can walk from here. It's cool."

"Dean-"

"It's not far. It's pretty close actually. I'll walk-"

"No- Dean…"

"Seriously, it's cool."

The handsome individual walked over to where he was and this was the first time the teen really noticed his walk. It was so… graceful, almost like he was floating and it nearly stupefied him.

Holy fuck was he hot.

Too much that he had no choice but to accept, on the condition that he was to drop him off at the bus stop near his house.

"Are you sure Dean? I'll drop you off in front of your house just tell me where you live." Roman spoke as he drove, one hand on the steering wheel, the other between them. Too close, too tempting to reach over and touch.

But what the hell was he thinking? He wasn't fucking gay; much less gay for his teacher.

"Nah, man." He spoke as manly as he could. As deep as his voice could go. Only doing so to mask his extending fear of being discovered, "The bus stop is close to my house." Of Roman finding out about his thoughts. Of leaning over and kissing the fuck out of him, "This neighborhood is pretty violent." Tangling his pale hands to that jet black hair, undoing that lame bun that only added to his massive sex appeal. Not giving a damn about whether they would crash or not, "Wouldn't want you to risk the nice car." At least he would die knowing how velvety that infamous hair was.

The man only frowned, rubbing at his face once again with his free hand, the hand that'd been between them just mere seconds ago. Ambrose suddenly feeling cold.

They arrived at the bus stop moments before the sun disappeared completely, leaving another day to be forgotten.

They sat in silence for what seemed like a millisecond. Then, as Dean was getting ready to exit the car, he felt Roman shuffling behind him.

"Here."

He looked and was greeted by the strong, incredibly good scent of Roman's leather jacket. One he was handing to him.

"What?" He responded, not knowing what else to say.

"It's cold out and I'm sure you still have like two blocks left to go." His expression turned briefly sour at that.

"Oh no, it's cool-"

"Dean…" He immediately interrupted, clearly frustrated at the boy, "You already said no to me taking you all the way to your house. The least you can do for me, and yourself, is to take this and not die frozen somewhere." Okay, there was some sarcasm there, meaning he wasn't totally annoyed, "Now please, take this."

"No seriously man, I can walk like this."

"You're so stubborn. You want me to get out of the car and force it on you? I can do that." There was a pause, Roman a bit relieved to see the teen was now examining his very thin options. Meanwhile, he imagined how fun it would be to chase him down the street, another excuse to touch him because god knew how much he'd wanted to earlier when they'd been out.

"Fine." To his surprise, the teen took the jacket. Actually did something he was told for once. That gave him a lot more satisfaction than it should've. He grinned as big as he had all week, not able to help himself, "Forget me putting it on though."

"Oh come on!" He exclaimed, not loud enough to be seen as angry. He wasn't angry. On the contrary, he was pretty fucking pleased with himself. He noticed the teen smirking as well, "Also, please be careful." His tone was now as serious as could be. He tried his best not to sound concerned but what the hell? He couldn't he hide it anymore. The fact was too obvious to him at this point, and it was out. He cared about Dean. That was it. He cared and maybe it was out of his reach to do so. Maybe it wasn't his place, but screw what place he had in the kid's life. He cared because he could, "And please tell me if anything happens. Anything Dean. I'm here."

Dean's eyes widened briefly but didn't say anything else.

He just giggled as he walked. He couldn't help it. Holy fuck he'd been behaving like such a giddy chick all day.

He could feel eyes on him. Eyes that'd become so familiar in the span of a couple hours. Gray ones he already missed. Gray and deep and beautiful. Ones he couldn't wait to see again; to be trapped in them, drown in them for as long as they could hold him. He didn't mind how long.

Roman looked on, pleased, satisfied at this. Funny how such a small thing, such a small action could trigger such insane feelings. Such weird, undiscovered, indescribable feelings. Feelings he didn't know how much longer he could keep. As long as was necessary, as long as he possibly could.

This time he couldn't help the chuckle that formed on his lips when Dean Ambrose put his leather jacket on.

* * *

 _A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Dean and Roman's relationship develops and i think it is absolutely beautiful. I am enjoying the journey guys hope you are too!_


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